Caciocavallo Silano DOP

One of the most ancient pasta filata cheeses of southern Italy, certified DOP under Reg. CE 1263/96. Made exclusively from raw Italian cow's milk from Puglia, fire-marked with the pine emblem of the Consorzio di Tutela. Sweet and buttery when young, increasingly piquant and complex as maturation develops. This Caciocavallo Silano DOP is produced by Caseificio Palazzo, under the Murgella brand, in Putignano in the Murgia Pugliese.

The name tells the story of how the cheese is made. A cavallo — straddled, astride — is how the forms have always been hung: tied in pairs with cord and suspended across a wooden beam, swinging gently as they dry and mature. The DOP zone covers a large swath of southern Italy: Calabria, Basilicata, Campania, Molise, and parts of Puglia. Each region produces a slightly different expression; the Apulian version sits on the milder, sweeter end of the spectrum.

Excellent on its own, grilled, or in the traditional Apulian bombette: pork rolls stuffed with caciocavallo and grilled over charcoal. Also remarkable on a cheese board with fresh fig and honey, or melted onto bread. The rind is not edible. Keep refrigerated; once cut, wrap and refrigerate.