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Next: 9 Feb 2027

Shrove Tuesday, the last cheese of Carnival

The last day before Lent, when Naples bakes lasagne di Carnevale with ricotta and Sicily fills cannoli.

Photo: Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Cheeses for Shrove Tuesday, the last cheese of Carnival

Shrove Tuesday, Martedì Grasso or Mardi Gras, is the last day before the Lenten fast, and its food is about using up what Lent will forbid or discourage. In Naples it is the day for lasagne di Carnevale, layered with ricotta, mozzarella or provola, small meatballs, sausage and ragù. In Sicily, cannoli, crisp shells filled with sweetened ricotta, were first a Carnival sweet before they became a year-round one. In Britain the day is Pancake Day, and in France and Brazil the parades of Mardi Gras and Carnaval end that night.

The cheeses

RicottaIn Neapolitan lasagne and in the filling of cannoli.MozzarellaMelted through the layers of Carnival lasagne.ProvolaSmoked or plain, used in place of mozzarella.
About this page

Written by the EveryCheese desk with AI assistance. Background: "Shrove Tuesday" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven cheeses you may not know, the cheese days of the week ahead, and one dish explained step by step.