This is a double review, featuring two cheeses that ended up going into a lasagna I made recently.

First up, the biographical information:

• Smoked Provolone
• Purchased from: Brennan’s Market (Madison, West Side)
• Made in Belgium, Wisconsin
• 2009 American Cheese Contest Score: 98.25

• Whole Milk Mozzarella
• Purchased from: Brennan’s Market (Madison, West Side)
• Made in Wisconsin

Now for the reviews:

The provolone is really quite different from any provolone I’d had before, smoked or otherwise. It was… intense. Richer, with a strong tangy acidy aftertaste. Pleasant, but one of those cases where the
high quality Wisconsin cheese is a departure from the stuff you get in the rest of the country.

4/5 Stars, Recommended.

The Whole Milk Mozzarella… hmm. Not that memorable in some respects, but very melty. As I recall, it is richer, being whole milk vs. skim or part skim mozzarella, but that sort of goes without saying. Given that I primarily got it to put in Lasagna though, melting well is a big plus.

3/5 Stars

Here you can see them, layered into said Lasagna. They congealed very nicely into a single, cohesive layer of gooey dairy goodness, which I’ve never managed to get the cheese in a lasagna to do before.

Here is the final product, ready for the oven.

The green bits are some chopped garlic scapes from our CSA farm, Ridgeland Harvest.

Pasta is delicious.