Gravina Pallone

The tradition of this semi-hard stretched-curd cow’s milk cheese dates back to the era of the seasonal livestock migration, the transhumance, when flocks and herds of thousands of animals were taken along the Puglian trails. In past centuries, Gravina was one of the most important stops along the Bradanico-Tarantino trail, running from Melfi to Castellaneta. The town boasted an important cheesemaking tradition. The name Pallone comes from the cheese’s ball (palla) shape, which was designed to make it easy to tie the cheese in pairs and transport them on the backs of donkeys during the transhumance, or hang them in tuff caves for aging.
The cheese is mentioned in an agricultural encyclopedia from 1859, but these days few people know what Pallone is. The name has fallen into disuse, even locally, and the cheese is often confused with ordinary Caciocavallo. Only a few dairies in Gravina still make Pallone, whose weight can vary from one to ten kilos. Very few farms can guarantee a constant supply of quality milk, suitable for processing raw.

Season

Gravina Pallone is made from January to March