Provolone (Silvery Moon Creamery)
- Producer
- Silvery Moon Creamery
- Country
- United States
- Region
- Maine
- Weight
- 2.5-3 lbs
- Website
- www.silverymooncheese.com
- Milk
- Cow
- Treatment
- Pasteurised
- Classification
- Firm
- Rennet
- Microbial
- Style
- Pasta Filata (mozzarella-type)
Silvery Moon Creamery is located at Smiling Hill Farm near Portland, Maine, which has been in the Knight family since the 1700s. The Knight’s Holstein cows graze outdoors seven months per year, and in the winter they eat haylage from the farm’s pesticide-free pastures.
Silvery Moon Creamery was born in 2003 from a partnership between cheesemaker Jennifer Betancourt, who first learned the art of cheesemaking at the Squire Tarbox Inn on Westport Island, and later at Cornell University, and the Knight family. Today cheese production continues under the direction of Dorothee Grimm, who was born and raised in Germany and worked for years as a researcher in microbiology. After moving to Maine, Dorothee took cheesemaking classes from different local cheesemakers and made yogurt and cheese at home before applying for a position at Silvery Moon. “I still work in microbiology, pampering the good microbes and keeping the bad ones out,” Dorothee says. “But now, I can eat the results of my work at the end of the day.”
Silvery Moon Creamery’s Provolone is a pasta filata cheese, which is cultured and hand-sculpted in the traditional manner (fresh chunks of curd are dunked in hot water or whey, causing them to become malleable and making them easier to form into desired shapes). The ball-shaped cheeses are hung to age for one month.
Tasting Notes
Firm and round in appearance, this Provolone yields a softer, more pliant texture than expected. Flavor is mild yet rounded and slightly nutty, reminiscent of wheat bread, with notes of cultured butter and grass.
Pairings
Pair this mild Provolone with a light, fruity wine such as a Sauvignon Blanc or a Beaujolais. It also melts quite well; Silvery Moon cheesemaker Dorothee Grimm suggests melting it into a ciabatta sandwich with turkey, spinach and cranberry mayonnaise.
