Provola dei Nebrodi joined the official list of typical Italian products with the PDO certification (protected designation of origin), under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1319 published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 23 September 2020.
Production area. The municipalities of the Nebrodi mountains, in the provinces of Messina, Catania and Enna, including Floresta, Mistretta, Randazzo, Bronte, Maletto, Cerami and Troina. All production stages must take place in the area.
Raw material. Whole raw cow’s milk, from cattle raised in the area that graze for most of the year on the wild vegetation of the Nebrodi; forage must make up at least 60% of the dry matter of their diet. The rennet is a paste from kid or lamb.
How it is made. The milk curdles at about 36 °C; the curd is broken by hand to the size of a grain of rice and left to mature on wooden tables until it is ready for stretching. The curd is stretched by hand with hot water or whey, in wooden vessels, and shaped into the typical pear or oval form; it is then salted in brine. It is made in the fresh, semi-aged, aged and “sfoglia” types (long-aged, with a paste that separates into layers), and “con limone verde”, which encloses a whole green verdello lemon.
Provola dei Nebrodi PDO must have the following characteristics when released for consumption:
– pear shape, with or without a small head, for the fresh type; oval with a short neck widening at the top for the other types
– smooth, thin, compact rind, from cream to golden yellow as ageing progresses
– soft paste in the fresh type, up to hard in the aged type, from ivory white to amber yellow
– layered structure in the sfoglia type
– sweet, delicate flavour when fresh, becoming sharper and saltier with ageing
History. It is the traditional cheese of the Nebrodi herdsmen, linked in particular to Floresta, the highest town in Sicily. Documents from 1870-1872 already describe the cheesemaking techniques still used today. The product is protected by the Consorzio di tutela della Provola dei Nebrodi DOP.
In the kitchen. The fresh cheese is enjoyed sliced as a table cheese, also grilled, with vegetables and cured meats or with a drizzle of honey. The aged and sfoglia types are served in flakes or grated over pasta dishes; the green lemon version is ideal with rustic bread and a good Sicilian red wine.
