identity and characteristics

Northern Italian cheeses and pizza

Pecorino Romano

Cited by illustrious Roman authors such as Varro, Pliny the Elder, Hippocrates and Columella, already in use in the palaces and among the legionaries of Rome (for whom the daily ration was also established as a supplement to bread and spelled soup: 27g / 1 oz, Pecorino Romano immediately deserves a clarification about its origin. In fact, the name should not mislead: the production region is not only Lazio but also Tuscany and Sardinia. To explain why, we need to go back to 1884, the year in which the mayor of Rome introduced a ban on cheese salting within the city, an imposition which forced many Roman cheesemakers to move production to Sardinia, where the tradition of sheep herding was strong. It is significant that the specification identifies Sardinia, Lazio and the province of Grosseto as production areas, and the Consortium (which has been protecting the PDO brand since 1996) has its headquarters in Macomer (Nuoro, Sardinia) and 95% of production comes from Sardinia.

The fundamental ingredients for production, even before milk, are sheep and cheesemakers, who deserve the credit for best representing and interpreting a territory and its environmental and cultural characteristics. The historical combination of choice is with broad beans: for an unprecedented version of cacio e pepe, our advice is to accompany the pasta with a cream of fresh broad beans, adjusting it with a few leaves of mint.

The Roman-style gnocchi with pecorino romano grated generously are also delicious, as are the simple pulse soups which, sprinkled with Pecorino Romano, have an unfor gettable flavour. Finally, try it on top of carpaccio for a burst of flavour.

Sardinian Pecorino

All Sardinian and proudly so is Pecorino Sardo PDO, whose history dates back to the times of the Nuragic population. However, it was in the Roman era that Sardinia became a privileged center for the production of wheat and progressively the woods and uncultivated land gave way to agriculture and grazing, heralding the turning point towards dairy production. The climatic conditions of the island, combined with an environment rich in natural meadows and bushy vegetation, have represented an ideal habitat for sheep and for their subsequent breeding. If you want to look for historical sources on the origins of Pecorino Sardo, you have to go back to the end of the 18th century and observe a series of cheeses - the Bianchi, the Rossi Fini, the Affumicati, the Fresa and the Spiatatu - which represented the roots of the future PDO. In particular, Rosso Fino and Affumicato are the "fathers" of the modern Pecorino Sardo: obtained from raw milk or from milk heated with red- hot stones, they have gradually changed, in relation to the advent of more modern processing techniques, culminating in the innovations introduced since in the 60s. These, combined with the teachings of tradition, have led to the modern branded cheese. It is good to specify that when it comes to Pecorino Sardo, it is necessary to distinguish the Mature Pecorino Sardo from the Sweet Sardinian one. The former has a cylindrical shape, a smooth, consistent crust, brown in the more seasoned forms. The texture is white, tending towards straw yellow as it matures, compact or with sparse holes. The aging cannot be less than 2 months, for a final taste that is strong and pleasantly spicy. The weight varies from 3 to 4 kg (6lb 10oz – 8 lb 13oz). Pecorino Sardo Dolce has a cylindrical shape, a smooth, thin crust and a white or pale straw colour. The paste is white, soft, compact or with sparse holes, with a sweet and aromatic flavour. Aging varies from 20 to 60 days and each form weighs about 2 kg (4lb 7oz). The process requires that the whole sheep's milk is coagulated with calf rennet at 35-38°C (95°-100°F) for 35-40 minutes. Once the curd has been obtained, it is broken up to obtain granules the size of a hazelnut for the Sardinian Sweet, and the size of a grain of corn for the Mature. The paste is then semi-cooked, stewed and/or pressed, dry-salted or in brine and then seasoned, with the different times we have mentioned.

The Dolce type is eaten as a table cheese, served in flakes with fresh vegetables, or as a second course with grapes and pears. The mature one is ideal at the end of a meal, accompanied with bread with oil and pine nuts, or grated.

At the table, among the recipes that enhance it are above all the first courses. So here are the malloreddus alla Campidanese or the culurgionis de patata. But it is also worth trying a delicious appetiser such as roasted pecorino cheese, which has its roots in the pastoral tradition and was once cooked directly over a wood fire. Today, of course, it can be prepared at home, cooking the cheese on a griddle or in the oven and accompanying it with carasau bread and perhaps some honey. A more refined and modern appetiser is the mature pecorino flan, perhaps served on top of a courgette soup, in order to find a perfect balance between the savoury character of the cheese and the more delicate one of the courgettes. The single dishes not to be missed are the fregola and the frattau bread. If, on the other hand, you want to give a marked identity to a dish with French reminiscences, you can try onion soup with a sprinkling of Sardinian pecorino cheese, finishing everything in the oven, so that the surface acquires a perfect browning.

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