Who knew that you could find an authentic Italian grocery story with some of the best handcrafted Italian cheeses in America, in southeastern Oklahoma?! Lovera's Italian Market is a small local grocery store and cheese company in Krebs, Oklahoma, just east of McAlester. The family owned and operated Italian store specializes in traditional Italian goods and has offered some of the best hand-crafted Italian foods since 1946. Lovera's has been making their own Italian sausage since they opened and now they also have an award-winning line of artisan cheeses. Lovera's brings the old family recipes and unique flavors of the mountainous Piedmont (Piemonte), Italy, where their ancestors are from, and combines them with the local ingredients from Oklahoma. A surprisingly fantastic match!
Fun Fact: Krebs is known as the "Little Italy of Oklahoma".
Lovera's store truly has an Italian feel and the "Caciocavera" cheeses hanging from the ceiling above the deli counter are definitely a unique sight around here! Lovera's is one of my favorites in Oklahoma. It is so much fun to walk around and check out all their products. The grocery store is stocked with artisan cheeses, house-made sausages, antipasti, olive oils, cookies, chocolates, and many other imported Italian products that are hard to find anywhere else. Besides sausages and cheeses, Lovera has their own line of pasta sauces, olives, vinegars, pickled vegetables, spice blends, and more. Plus frozen house-made Italian meals like lasagna, manicotti, etc.
The Cheese
Let's talk about Lovera's cheese! Lovera's award-winning line of hand-formed cheeses are made with the highest quality fresh locally sourced milk. Lovera's has their own cheese factory on-site and uses a variety of milks (cow, goat, and sheep) to create their cheeses. The cow's milk comes from a Jersey cow family farm in Clarita, OK where the cows have access to sweet Oklahoma prairie grass all year long. Milk from Jersey cows has a higher fat content and is the secret to making rich and buttery cheese! The goat's milk comes from Cross Broom Farm near Antlers, OK where the goats are mostly grass-fed. What makes Lovera's cheese so special is the unique combination of the traditional Italian cheese making process with the flavors and ingredients of the southeastern Oklahoma plains. One of a kind!
Lovera's cheeses:
Caciocavera: The signature cheese of Lovera's! It's a Caciocavallo-style cheese traditionally from Southern Italy. A cow’s milk cheese that is hand stretched and hung to dry/age. Sold in several varieties including aged, braided, and smoked. The flavor and texture is comparable to a combination of mozzarella and provolone. The smoked Caciocavera is smoked on site with Mockernut Hickory.
Caprino di Krebs: Soft goat cheese. Flavors: traditional, cranberry, and cracked peppercorn.
Toma - Alpine-style cheese: Cheese made with sheep's milk or cow's milk. Flavors: Oklahoma Toma, Tomina Vecchia, Bomb Toma (made with an imperial stout from local brewery - Prairie Artisan Ales), and more.
Lovera's high quality cheeses capture the essence of what the French call "terroir". The character and flavor of a product based on the geographical region where it's made. The cheeses have a unique flavor and are a perfect match of locally-sourced ingredients from southeastern Oklahoma and the authentic century-old techniques of Italian cheese-making.
Fun fact: Caciocavella cheese is protected under The D.O.P. (Protection of Designation of Origin) so Lovera had to create their own name for their signature cheese. They combined Caciocavalla and Lovera to get Caciocavera!
At the store they offer free samples of all their cheeses. Check out the latest Lovera's cheeses here!
Deli counter
Lovera's offers terrific meat at the deli counter. All kinds of steaks, ribs, smoked sausage, brisket, deli meat, and more. Most of them smoked in-house. At the deli-counter at Lovera's you can get Italian sandwiches that are great for lunch which are made to order at the counter! Sandwiches like: Muffuletta, Italian sausage and Caciocavera, Caprese, and more. Check out Lovera's menu in the photo gallery below.
Travel tip: Stay at the beautiful cabins of the River's Edge Cottages in the Ouachita Mountains while travelling through Krebbs to visit Lovera's. A perfect weekend getaway in the area!
Italian Cooking Classes
Periodically Lovera's also offers cooking classes on how to make classic Italian meals from scratch. Such a unique opportunity! Learn how to make Italian classics like: home-made ravioli, chicken marsala, home-made gnocchi, meatballs and manicotti, and more. You get to enjoy a glass of wine and snack on some Lovera's cheese during the class. Yum! Dates for upcoming classes and events get posted on Lovera's Facebook page.
** Experience Lovera's at Home **
Have a taste of Lovera's at home by putting together a charcuterie board! Simply visit the store online and have your favorite products shipped to your home. They deliver all across the USA. (If you live in Oklahoma, Crest grocery stores carry some Lovera's products)
Open a bottle of wine and let the cheese tasting begin! Super fun together with friends or a date night at home.
Until the next departure!
Lovera's Italian Market and Cheese Factory
A little bit of Italy in southeastern Oklahoma.
Lovera's Cooking Class - Homemade Ravioli
Fun and informative class about how to make true Italian Ravioli from scratch.
