Pecorino is an Italian hard cheese produced from sheep's milk. The name derives from , which means ' sheep' in Italian.

Overview

Of the six main varieties of pecorino, all of which have protected designation of origin (PDO) status under European Union law, is probably the best known outside Italy, especially in the United States, which has been an important export market for the cheese since the 19th century. Most is produced on the island of Sardinia, though its production zone also includes

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

and the Tuscan provinces of Grosseto and

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

. Ancient Roman authors wrote about this cheese and its production technique. The other five mature PDO cheeses are the from Sardinia (''casu berbeghinu'' in Sardinian language); , whose production was already attested by Pliny the Elder in his '' Natural History''; (or ''picurinu sicilianu'' in Sicilian) from Sicily; from Basilicata; and ''pecorino crotonese'' from province of Crotone, in

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

. Another well-known pecorino is the one that was produced in

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

, the . All come in a variety of styles depending on how long they have been aged. The more matured cheeses, referred to as (), are harder but still crumbly in texture and have decidedly buttery and nutty flavours. The other two types, and , have a softer texture and milder cream and milk tastes.

Tradition

A variant from

southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

is (), to which black peppercorns are added. Today many other additions are made, for example

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

, or tiny pieces of white or black truffle. In Sardinia, the larvae of the cheese fly are intentionally introduced into to produce a local delicacy called '' casu martzu'', which means 'rotten cheese'. As it is illegal, ''casu marzu'' is primarily sold through the black market. Meals may be finished with a good , served with pears and walnuts or drizzled with strong chestnut honey. Pecorino is also often used to finish pasta dishes, and used to be the natural choice for most Italian regions from

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

down to

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, rather than the more expensive

Parmesan Parmesan (, ) is an Italian cuisine, Italian Types of cheese#Hard cheese, hard, Types of cheese#Granular, granular cheese produced from Dairy cattle, cow's milk and aged at least 12 months. It is a Grana (cheese), grana-type cheese, along wit ...

. It is still preferred today for the pasta dishes of Rome and Lazio, for example pasta dressed with , , and .

References

{{Authority control

Overview

Tradition

See also

References