Caseificio F.lli Del Mastro
Family dairy founded 1956 at Sant'Eufemia a Maiella, specialising in pasta-filata cow's-milk cheeses: caciocavallo, scamorza and provoloncino, plus giuncata, ricotta and yogurt.
About Caciocavallo abruzzese
Pasta-filata cow's-milk cheese listed as an Abruzzo traditional food product, made across the region, with its origins in the provinces of Chieti and L'Aquila; the Gran Sasso park finds it mainly in the province of L'Aquila. Made from milk, rennet and salt, it is pear-shaped, and two wheels are tied on a raffia cord and hung astride a pole to age, which gives the cheese its name. Its colour and aroma vary with season and place, because summer pastures on the central Apennine uplands are rich in species.
Made in: Whole region; traditionally the provinces of L'Aquila and Chieti
On the plate
At 60 to 70 days it is fresher and soft with sweet aromatic notes; with longer ageing it becomes firmer and piquant, according to the Gran Sasso park, which adds that colours and aromas differ with season and place.
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Caciocavallo abruzzese
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Abruzzo
Our pickA caciocavallo aged until it turns firm and piquant can stand up to a full-bodied Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. The wine's fruit offsets the piquant heat, and the fat of the stretched cow's-milk paste softens the tannin.
The grapes behind these winesMontepulciano
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
Caseificio di Memmo
Dairy at Moscufo since 1975, buying milk from nearby farms. Makes caciocavallo, sheep, goat and mixed-milk cheeses and fresh dairy, and farms 18 ha of olives, cereals, fruit and vegetables.
Casera Consortile del Pecorino di Farindola
The producers' consortium shop, opened 2001 in a basement of the renovated town hall. It sells Pecorino di Farindola from the member farms and also selects and ages the cheeses it sells.
Cheese experiences nearby
Park itinerary no. 2: Su e giù per la Baronia
A 69 km driving loop from Barisciano, published by the Gran Sasso park, through Santo Stefano di Sessanio, Castel del Monte and Calascio. The park suggests buying Canestrato at a farm shop in Castel del Monte and stopping at the Campo Imperatore cooperative's dairy on the way back.
Caciocavallo abruzzese: questions
Why is it called caciocavallo?
The Gran Sasso park says the name comes from the custom of tying two wheels on a raffia thread and hanging them astride a stick to age.
How long is it aged?
The park gives a minimum of 60 to 70 days, when the cheese is softer and sweeter, and up to about 2 years, when it is firmer and piquant.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Abruzzo
Plan the trip
Visit Caciocavallo abruzzese country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
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Sources: www.gransassolagapark.it, www.storieeluoghidabruzzo.it. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.