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Caciocavallo

This ancient stretched curd cheese has roots dating back to 2500 years, when Hippocrates boasted of the Greeks skill in making cheese.

Our friend and cheese maker Franco brought his passion for Caciocavallo to Toons Bridge. Franco has huge experience with the pasta filata (stretched curd) technique, which is used to make both Mozzarella and Caciocavallo. 

Translated from Italian, Caciocavallo means "horse cheese". This is because historically, these cheeses were bound together with rope in pairs, and hung over wooden saddles to mature.

Like our Mozzarella and Scamorza, Caciocavallo is made from raw cow's milk with the addition of whey starters. This mixture is ripened and when ready after some hours, it is stretched in boiling water and manipulated by hand. The stretching process is very dynamic, as the curd is twisted, knotted and tightened. 

There are many variations of caciocavallo, that use different animal rennets, and can be aged for many years. We make three distinct types that have very different characters. The flavours can be huge, as we harness all of the various raw milk bacteria to ripen the curd.  

 Dolce

Cacicoavallo Dolce are pear shaped cheeses that weigh roughly 1kg each, and with are made with calf rennet. They reach maturity early, between 6-8 weeks. This cheese has a smooth consistency, with some small holes. The taste is sweet and acidic. We also produce several variations such as stuffed with lemons, calabrian pepperoncini, bay leaves and butter. 
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Picante  

Cacio Cavallo Picante is generally made with kid rennet, in rounds weighing 3 kilos. The kid rennet gives a different effect to the conventional calf rennet because it brings a different enzymes to the process. Typically, when mature, cracks appear in the paste and it develops a sharp piccante back drop.
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Occhiato

Caciocavallo Occhiato is made with calf rennet, and produced in 3 kilo rounds. Once the cheese has been stretched and shaped, it is hung up in a warm room to develop the propionic bacteria, famously known for making the holes, otherwise know as "eyes", which are present in Emmental. The propionic activity also gives a beautiful nutty flavour to the cheese.
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Making Cacio Cavallo in the dairy