Caciocavallo podolico (Podolica cow cheese)

History and origin

Caciocavallo is a stretched-curd cheese of very ancient origin, made throughout southern Italy with many local variations. The name comes from an old habit: the cheeses were hung in pairs, tied with a raffia loop, astride wooden poles near the hearth, so that the outer skin would form and ageing could begin.

Caciocavallo podolico takes its name from the cows that give the milk. The Podolica breed, according to the Campania Region, probably goes back to the Indo-European migrations between the late Neolithic and the Bronze Age, or to peoples who arrived later from Central Asia. It is a hardy, frugal breed, able to make use even of the poor pastures of the Campanian Apennines.

Podolica cows were traditionally kept for both meat and milk: once the calf was weaned, the milk went to make caciocavallo. The cheese is listed among the traditional products of Campania.

Sources: Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura — Caciocavallo affumicato, di bufala, podolico, di Castelfranco · Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura — Carne di bovino podolico (prodotto tradizionale) · Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026)

Area and method of production

Podolica cows are still found mainly in the provinces of Avellino, Caserta and Salerno. In the inland areas around Avellino and Salerno they are still raised with the age-old practice of transhumance; on the hills and mountains around Caserta there are instead settled farms, where the Podolica often lives alongside other white Apennine breeds.

In the Monti Picentini the Region describes an entirely craft process. Raw milk is warmed to 36-37 degrees and curdled with natural calf or kid rennet; the broken curd is gathered on cloths to drain and then matures and acidifies. It is then cut by hand with steel knives, covered with boiling whey and stretched by hand with wooden ladles, giving it its shape.

Then come brining, tying and ageing, which for Campanian caciocavallo lasts from 60 days to over a year, in airy rooms or caves. The cheeses may also be smoked over a wood or straw fire.

Sources: Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura — Caciocavallo affumicato, di bufala, podolico, di Castelfranco · Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura — Caciocavallo podolico dei Monti Picentini (prodotto tradizionale) · Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura — Carne di bovino podolico (prodotto tradizionale)

How to recognise it

Caciocavallo podolico has the typical rounded, elongated shape, with a small head and a raffia tie. In the Monti Picentini it usually weighs 1-2 kilos and is straw yellow, darkening with age. The paste is semi-hard and even, compact and slightly grainy to the touch.

Its aroma changes with the pasture, and this is what makes it so distinctive. In spring and summer, when the cows go up to mountain pastures rich in aromatic herbs, the cheese becomes more fragrant; with the lowland pastures of autumn and winter its flavour grows stronger and more decided.

Long-aged cheeses develop a spicy note, sometimes very pronounced. In the Picentini cheeses are found aged anywhere from fifteen days to more than six months.

Sources: Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura — Caciocavallo affumicato, di bufala, podolico, di Castelfranco · Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura — Caciocavallo podolico dei Monti Picentini (prodotto tradizionale)

Where to taste it

Among the areas to look for it are the Monti Picentini, where the Region lists Montella, Bagnoli Irpino, Cassano Irpino, Nusco, Volturara Irpina, Acerno and Serino as production towns. A trip to Montella and Bagnoli Irpino therefore leads into the heart of the production area.

The Province of Avellino's portal lists caciocavallo podolico among the typical products of Zungoli, a village in the upper Ufita valley crossed by an ancient drove road, the Pescasseroli-Candela transhumance route. Transhumance is the very thread that ties this cheese to the land.

The cheese is also made in the inland areas around Salerno and on the hills around Caserta. The most sought-after cheeses, according to the Region, are those made in spring, when the herds are out at pasture.

Sources: Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura — Caciocavallo podolico dei Monti Picentini (prodotto tradizionale) · Provincia di Avellino, Sistema Irpinia — Zungoli · Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura — Caciocavallo affumicato, di bufala, podolico, di Castelfranco

Protection

• Traditional agri-food product (PAT) — Campania, n. 100, 26th revision (Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026) · Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura — Caciocavallo affumicato, di bufala, podolico, di Castelfranco)

When

• The sources consulted give no months.

Where

Campania

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