Pecorino Toscano
Italian Cheeseaholic
Making the most of Milk – Italian Cheeseaholic
Aidan Benbow
Making the most of Milk – Italian Cheeseaholic
Cheese is what I’m all about. That might not sound like the most alluring epitaph, but nevertheless it contains a ring of truth. Cheese is something that we are all aware of; that we have an had different experiences of, and probably have an opinion about. Here, I am referring to cheese in the physical sense of a food substance made from milk, but cheese can of course have different meanings, and these things could also apply to those as well. Cheese might not seem like the most interesting or important of topics, but actually quite a lot can be said about it and learnt from it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say!
Making the most of Milk – Italian Cheeseaholic
Making the most of Milk – Italian Cheeseaholic
It’s all in a Name So, to begin with, where did the name cheese actually come from? As is often the case in English, a good place to start looking for the origins of a word is Latin. The Romans did many things to help in uence and shape the world we live in, not least spreading around their language. Many words in English have a connection to Latin and it would appear that Cheese is no exception. The Latin for Cheese was (and indeed still is!) ‘Caseus’. From this it seems that the Old English word ‘Cese’ came, which gradually became ‘Chese’ and nally, in modern in English, ‘Cheese’. It’s not hard to see how, over the years, due to different in uences people gradually changed and developed their pronunciation of this word. Even at my not so advanced age, I can observe how the younger generation are transforming their use of the English language. A few years ago someone thought it interesting that I was unaware of the word ‘chav’ which apparently has become popular to describe anti-social youth culture. Here, I won’t even mentioned people’s indiscriminate and non-grammatical adhering use of the word good, or frequent American Television inspired uses of awesome! Anyway, linguistically frustrated digression aside, the Latin word ‘Caseus’ is also the basis for the modern English word ‘Casein’ which means the type of protein which makes up about 80% of milk protein and, in other words, is then essentially what cheese is made out of.
Going Back and Forth Travelling even further back in time to before the Romans, it is believed that there was an ancient root word, ‘Kwat’ which meant ‘to ferment or to sour’. It is not hard to see how this could have become ‘Caseus’ in Latin in terms of the aforementioned vocabulary metamorphosis from generation to generation and ,indeed, from culture to culture. But also, in terms of meaning, it’s easy to see why this word would have been chosen for cheese as it describes well the process of cheesemaking (cheese being the product of milk that has been fermented with enzymes or soured with acid).
Making the most of Milk – Italian Cheeseaholic
Making the most of Milk – Italian Cheeseaholic
Moving on in time, the Romans found different techniques to take very simple, basic cheeses produced by curdling milk, what we might call ‘Fresh’ or ‘Soft’ cheeses today, and mature them to make hard, long life cheeses, along the lines of today’s ‘Parmesan’. These cheeses were particularly useful for taking on long journeys as they lasted a long time before going off, and so were in demand for soldiers’ rations. A new name developed for them, ‘Caseus Formatus’. The ‘Formatus’ referred to the fact that the cheese had been formed into a solid block that could be kept for a long time. In modern languages, the word for cheese often re ects one of these two Latin names for cheese. As mentioned, we have ‘Cheese’ in English as well as ‘Kaese’ in German and ‘Cacio’ in Italian. These come from the caseus root. On the other hand, we have “Fromage’ in French and the more standard Italian name for cheese of ‘Formaggio’. These evidently derive from the formatus root.
Something a little more Exotic A lot could be said about the names for cheese in different languages. However, life (in this world at least) is short and so we will move on, although not before making one more remark on this topic. Less known languages are often considered exotic. One such language is Romanian. It is actually spoken by quite a lot of people, estimates of up to 30 million including rst and second language speakers (I myself adding a one to the second language speakers total). Nevertheless, most of them live in, or around, Romania and so it is not a widely known language outside of this area. In any case, Romanian is a language which adheres to the already discussed ideas of having a word for cheese contacted to Latin. This word is ‘Cas’, which is comes from caesus. These are usually yellowy, partially matured, softmedium cheeses and are actually often referred to as ‘Cascaval’, the ‘caval’ bit referencing their rotund nature.
Making the most of Milk – Italian Cheeseaholic
Making the most of Milk – Italian Cheeseaholic
There is, however, a second word used generally to mean cheese, although it tends in everyday parlance to refer to white, soft, fresh cheeses, as a distinction from the slightly harder, more matured cascavals. This word is ‘Branza’. As you can see, it doesn’t appear to be related to the Latin ‘Formatus’. Indeed, it seems to have an uncertain origin, either being derived from the name of a place or from the name of a case used for putting the freshly extracted cheese curd into, in order to drain off excess liquid.
Other Meanings Over the years, the word cheese has taken on meanings other than preserved milk solid. Indeed, with the rise of the health and alternative food industry, the term cheese can now be used for many food products that are cheese like in nature. Tofu, for example, can be called ‘Bean cheese’ due to the fact that the method used to obtain it is not dissimilar to that of curdling milk and the resulting product is cheese like in it’s consistency and even in some of its uses. Another use of the word is in the expression ‘The Big Cheese’. In this sense, cheese means someone who is well developed in his eld; a leader or important person in their domain. This is analogous to cheese as being a product that can be well formed over time, which is the case for hard cheeses that have been matured for a long time. Cheese can also mean something lacking in quality or overly sentimental, such as it was a cheesy magic show or a cheesy grin. And, of course, let us not forget another very common use of the word, so much so that it is even known internationally, that of making children and grown ups alike smile for photographs. Say cheese! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cheese https://dexonline.ro/intrare/brânză/6747
Making the most of Milk – Italian Cheeseaholic
An alternative to Parmesan – Italian Cheeseaholic
Parmesan cheese, more correctly called Parmigano Reggiano, is considered by many to be the king of cheeses. This could well be to with the fact that it has many qualities. In particularly, it comes in different forms depending on how long it has been aged and so has many different uses.
It’s no surprise than that many attempts have been made to copy this cheese to capitalise on it’s success. Indeed, so much so, that Parmesan has become a generic name for all these counterfeit cheeses and real Parmesan is actually the aforementioned Parmigano Reggiano. This all being said there are other types of Italian cheese that can be used as an alternative to Parmesan. One of these is Pecorino Toscano. An alternative to Parmesan – Italian Cheeseaholic
An alternative to Parmesan – Italian Cheeseaholic
Cow’s Cheese vs Sheep’s Cheese Parmigano Reggiano is traditionally made out of milk from cows. However, by de nition Pecorino Toscano is made from sheep’s milk (Pecora being the Italian word for sheep). Obviously, the type of milk that a cheese is made from in uences greatly the taste of the nal product (especially seeing as cheese is in essence a one ingredient product!). Certainly, a difference in taste can be detected between Parmigano Reggiano and Pecorino Toscano. This difference is most pronounced in less well matured versions, where, as is often the case for sheep’s milk cheeses, the Pecorino cheese has a stronger, more tangy avour compared to it’s cow’s milk counterpart. This difference (in my opinion at least!) doesn’t disqualify Pecorino Toscano though as an able substitute for Parmigano Reggiano. It has many qualities to endear itself, and in the mature version at least, a certain similarity to Parmigano Reggiano. Indeed, by the time the two cheeses have matured the taste, not to mention the consistency of the cheeses have become similar.
The Makings of Pecorino Toscano The process for making Pecorino Toscano is not dissimilar to that for making Parmigano Reggiano, although that is not surprising as in essence the process for making most medum to hard cheeses is similar and indeed it is usually just the differences in nuances that give rise to the wide variety of cheeses available. As a rule pasteurised milk is used for safety reasons as it kills off potentially harmful bacteria. (Some small-scale cheesemakers prefer to use raw milk as the extra bacteria can add to the taste of the nal product, but it is hard to nd such raw milk cheeses on sale in the common market). Liquid calf’s rennet is added to the milk, which has been heated to between 35 and 38 degrees celsius. This causes the milk to coagulate in around 25 minutes.
An alternative to Parmesan – Italian Cheeseaholic
An alternative to Parmesan – Italian Cheeseaholic
The next stage has two variations depending on the nal product desired. The solid curd produced by coagulation can be broken up into hzel-nut sized lumps if a softer nal cheese is intended. (The bigger lumps allow more moisture to be retained). Alternatively, if a semi-hard cheese is wanted, the curd can be broken into smaller pieces, and maybe reheated. This is to expel more moisture from the curd, aiding the drying and maturing process. With Parmigano Reggiano usually only long term matured cheeses are produced, so the curd at this stage is normally broken up into small rice granule sized pieces. For Pecorino Toscano, the curd is then put into cheese hoops and then pressed manually, or by steam treatment, for between 30 minutes and three and a half hours. This expels even more moisture.
A little look at another type of Pecorino Cheese! The curd is then immersed in a salt solution for 8 hours for soft Pecorino and 12 to 14 hours for the harder version. The nal stage of the manufacturing process is to leave the cheese in a cellar at 8-10 degrees celsius and humidity of 80-90%. For softer cheeses, twenty days is enough to mature it. Harder cheeses require at least four months.
An alternative to Parmesan – Italian Cheeseaholic
An alternative to Parmesan – Italian Cheeseaholic
A side on slice of Pecorino Toscano
The Naming of Pecorino Toscano Pecorino Toscano has only actually been called this since after the Second World War. Over the years it has had something of an identity crisis. In ancient times it seems to have been called Lunense, or at least the version of it made in the area of Lunigiana described by an ancient author, Pliny the Elder. Later on in history, it would appear that the cheese took on the name of Marzolino, which re ected the fact that production used to begin in the month of March.
An alternative to Parmesan – Italian Cheeseaholic
An alternative to Parmesan – Italian Cheeseaholic
Interestingly, Bartolomeo Platina in 1475 compared Marzolino cheese to Maggnego, another name for Parmesan cheese, this one refelecting the fact some Parmesan was made in May, and saying that these two cheeses compete for sumpremacy amongst Italian cheeses. Finally, up until fairly recently, throughout Tuscany different cheeses were produced, but using variations on the aforementioed technique for making Pecorino Toscano, and each one going by a name contianing Cacio and a reference to the area where it was made. Eventually though, standardisation came, something attested to by the DOP label which is of cially carried by all authentic Pecorino Toscano and means that the cheese has been made in a certain area, using veri ed techniques.
An alternative to Parmesan – Italian Cheeseaholic
An alternative to Parmesan – Italian Cheeseaholic
The Using of Pecorino Toscano
An alternative to Parmesan – Italian Cheeseaholic
An alternative to Parmesan – Italian Cheeseaholic
Pecorino Toscano has many uses, depending on it’s hardness. The softer versions go well in salads, while slightly more mature cheese can be eaten with something sweet such as honey, jam or fruit. The real rivalry with Parmesan appears though when we talk about grating. Once Pecorino Toscano is well aged it forms a hard structure and strong avour which is well suited to grating over all sorts of pasta dishes. This is obviously the strong point of Parmigiano Reggiano too. Parmigiano Reggiano maybe has a slight edge on Pecorino Toscano as it can be aged for longer and develop an even more exquiste crystaline structure, which is great for grating (excuse the pun!) but this all adds to the cost.
The Final Verdict Overall, as we have seen, Pecorino Toscano and Parmigian Reggiano (i.e. Parmesan) are very similar cheeses, certainly at least in terms of production and the nal product when it comes to well matured versions. There are perhaps slight variations in avour and structure, which arguably give Parmigano the edge, but because of it’s reputation, Parmigian Reggiano is often more expensive than Pecorino Toscano, so Pecorino Toscano can be thought of as great, slightly cheaper cheese alternative to Parmesan. At the end of the day, it’s ultimately upto personal preference and, as mentioned earlier, for at least ve hundred years people have been debating which is best, Pecorino Toscano or Parmesan, so it’s obviously a close call!
An alternative to Parmesan – Italian Cheeseaholic
Making the most of Milk These are just my thoughts inspired by the topic of Cheese. Hopefully, they won't be too cheesy and indeed might even be helpful to someone!
