Pecorino

For other uses, see Pecorino (disambiguation).

Pecorino
Country of origin	Italy
Source of milk	Sheep
Texture	Hard
Related media on Commons

Pecorino is an Italian hard cheese produced from sheep's milk. The name pecorino derives from pecora, which means 'sheep' in Italian. ^[1]

Overview

Ultra-aged pecorino sardo cheese, produced in Sardinia and distributed from Genoa

Of the six main varieties of pecorino, all of which have protected designation of origin (PDO) status under European Union law, pecorino romano 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. ^[2] Most pecorino romano is produced on the island of Sardinia, although its production zone also includes Lazio and the Tuscan provinces of Grosseto and Siena. Ancient Roman authors wrote about this cheese and its production technique. ^[3]

The other five mature PDO cheeses are the pecorino sardo from Sardinia (casu berbeghinu in Sardinian language); pecorino toscano , whose production was already attested by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History ; ^{[4] [ better source needed ]} pecorino siciliano (or picurinu sicilianu in Sicilian); pecorino di Filiano from Basilicata; ^[5] and pecorino crotonese from the province of Crotone, in Calabria. ^[6] Two other well-known pecorinos are pecorino di Amatrice (from the comune of Amatrice, which was also the origin of amatriciana sauce), and the one that was produced in Abruzzo, the pecorino di Atri . ^{[7] [8]}

All come in a variety of styles depending on how long they have been aged. The more matured cheeses, referred to as stagionato (lit. 'seasoned' or 'aged'), are harder but still crumbly in texture and have decidedly buttery and nutty flavours. The other two types, semi-stagionato and fresco, have a softer texture and milder cream and milk tastes.^{[ citation needed ]}

Tradition

Pecorino di Filiano

A variant from southern Italy is pecorino pepato (lit. 'peppered pecorino'), to which black peppercorns are added. Today many other additions are made, for example walnuts, rocket, or tiny pieces of white or black truffle.^{[ citation needed ]}

In Sardinia, the larvae of the cheese fly are intentionally introduced into pecorino sardo to produce casu martzu . As it is illegal, it is primarily sold through the black market. ^[9]

See also

Media related to Pecorino at Wikimedia Commons

• Italy portal
• Food portal

• List of Italian cheeses
• List of Italian DOP cheeses – food with protected designation of origin status
• Pecorino di Carmasciano
• Pecorino di Filiano
• Pecorino romano
• Pecorino sardo
• Pecorino siciliano
• Pecorino toscano

References

1. pecorino, n. OED Online. December 2013. Oxford University Press. Accessed 7 January 2014.
2. Export statistics Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine from the producers’ consortium
3. Italian Pecorino and Ancient Roman
4. Pecorino Toscano Consortium for the Protection of Tuscan Pecorino (in Italian)
5. "Guide to PDO and PGI products: Pecorino of Filiano". www.10q.it. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015.
6. "Pecorino Crotonese DOP cheese". www.guffantiformaggi.com. Archived from the original on 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2016-02-26.
7. Barberis, Corrado (2010). Mangitalia: la storia d'Italia servita in tavola (in Italian). Donzelli Editore. p. 194. ISBN   978-88-6036-449-4.
8. Cremona, Luigi; Soletti, Francesco (2002). L'Italia dei formaggi (in Italian). Touring Editore. p. 97. ISBN   978-88-365-2727-4.
9. Agostino Petroni (18 March 2021). "Casu marzu: The world's 'most dangerous' cheese". CNN .