Provola ca lumia (con Limone)
A hand worked cheese that is typical of the region of Nebrodi (a mountain range in Northern Sicily).
The characteristic trait of this cheese is evident by the presence of lemon "verdicello", typical of this zone of Sicily.
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The lemon is perfectly preserved for many months without the risk of molding rendering the cheese an intense and favourable scent.
It tends to have a delicate taste that becomes more pronounced and spicy when it passes 1 year of aging.
It is excellent grilled. One form weighs about 1.2 to 1.5 Kg.
Processing technology: kid or lamb rennet is added to freshly milked milk (at about 36 degrees). It coagulates in about an hour. After breaking the curd, it is placed in a rush basket for about an hour. It is then cooked with hot whey and then left to cool. After these operations, the mass is pressed on a wooden surface, covered with a cloth, for 3-4 hours. Then it is cut into strips and left to dry for about 2 hours. Then it is sliced again and everything is thrown back into the hot whey (80 degrees) where the curd is stretched. Salting is carried out by bathing in brine for 24-48 hours. It matures in about 3 days, in a cool, well-ventilated place, where the wheels are hung up to dry, tied with string. Yield 8-9% (in spring).
Seasoning: optional, from 6 months up to about a year.
Features of the finished product: height: 25 cm; diameter: 20 cm; weight: 1.5 kg; shape: pear; rind: smooth and thin; dough: puff pastry, consistent but not hard; colour: straw.
Production area: Floresta (Me), Montalbano Elicona (Me), Tortorici (Me), Basicò (Me), S. Domenica Vittoria (Me), Castell'Umberto (Me) and neighboring areas.
Production calendar: from November to July.
Notes: also called pruovola. It is customary in the Floresta area (but only for family consumption) to put a verdello lemon in the core of the provola. It will give the cured product the characteristic scent of citrus fruit (Pruovula cca lumia). In other cases, and also in other areas (Ragusa), a knob of butter (Pruovula ccu burru) can be found inside the form. Furthermore, horses (cavadduzzi), doves (palummeddi), birds or puppets are made with the same dough as the provola to be eaten fresh for passing tourists.
Raw material: whole milk. The one obtained from grazing livestock is excellent.
