Provolone Cheese

Provolone cheese is an all-purpose Italian cheese used for grating and cooking, as well as desserts. It is a semi-soft cow's milk cheese. This cheese appears in various shapes. The thin, hard rind is golden-yellow and shiny. Sometimes waxed, Provolone cheese can be of multiple types, including Dolce (mild Provolone) aged for two to three months, and it is supple and smooth with a thin waxed rind. Aged for six months to two years, it is darker with small holes and a spicy flavor.

The fat content of Provolone is about 45%. A good brand to look for is Auricchio, from Italy. Serve this cheese with a big Italian red wine, of which Chianti Classico is an excellent choice. 

Substitute For Provalone Cheese

There are many good substitutes for Provolone if you don't have it use equal amounts of:

• Fontina Cheese - a richer, buttery flavor; excellent for melting too.
• OR - Mozzarella - this cheese is easy to find almost anywhere and you may even have some in the frig.  This is also a good melting cheese with a similar character as Fontina.
• OR - Scamorza - would be a good choice too flavor and texture-wise but in reality it is much harder to find (depending on where you live)

Where To Buy Provolone Cheese

This cheese is widely available, but the better products tend to be sold in specialty Italian delis and cheese shops. You can buy "average" products at stores like Trader Joe's. You can also purchase from one of the many good vendors, such as iGourmet via Amazon.com: Auricchio Provolone Extra Sharp.