Caciocavallo is traditionally produced throughout Southern Italy, particularly in the Apennine Mountains Dating back to the 14h century. It is thought to be a descendant of the first cheeses ever made in ancient Roman times. Shaped like a tear-drop, it is similar in taste to the aged Southern Italian Provolone cheese, with a hard edible rind.
The Italian name of the cheese caciocavallo means "Cheese on horseback" and it is thought that the name derives from the fact that two cheese forms are always bound together with rope and then left to mature by placing them 'a cavallo', i.e. straddling, upon a horizontal stick or branch.
