Pecorino
Cheese from the hills

The hills of Tuscany are specked with white dots on the high plains. This is where sheep are grazing. They are not bred for their meat, but for their milk, which the famous pecorino (cheese) is made of.

The pecorino is said to go back to the Etrusks, especially in the area around Lungigiana. In the fifteenth century, merchants introduced the cheese in Rome . Back then, the pecorino was well known as the cacio marzolino or cheese of March , because the production traditionally began in March and lasted all spring. According to another tradition, the pecorino was imported by Sardinian migrants in Tuscany . Today, a lot of producers of this cheese are Sardinian.

The pecorino has a unique taste. There are different kinds of pecorino, named after the area they are from, like the pecorino seneso, pecorino romano or the pecorino toscano, which is milder than its congeners.

The sheep are milked at least once a day. The cheese is heated up to 35-40°C and stirred for 20 minutes. Then the pecorino is poured into a round form and the liquid – the ricotta – is pressed out. Subsequently the cheese is salted for a few hours. In the end, the cheeses are stocked in a cold and dark environment for 40 days to 6 months.

Taste of citrus
The young pecorino is two weeks old and snow white on the inside, with a crumbly structure. The cheese becomes harder and darker during the riping. A pecorino which lies for two months is ripe; old cheese lies for six months or more and has a hard crystal structure. Smell and taste change as well during the riping. Young cheese is often quite mild with a touch of lemon. Almost every cheese has a nutty touch and the characteristic taste of citrus of cheese of sheep.

Tuscan people claim that the aromatic herbs for which the area is famous, give the sheep cheese its superior aroma. Sometimes this round cheese has a red crust and is then treated with a tomato extract or red peppers. The pecorino romano is rubbed in with oil and ashes. The colour of the crust also depends on the area or the maker.

The young pecorino is served on a cheeseboard with honey and a piece of pear or as lunch with olive bread. It is also delicious in slices with pieces of sundried tomatoes and olive-oil. In early summer Tuscan people eat their pecorino with fresh bread beans out of the pod. Old pecorino is suitable for grating. A light red wine suits perfectly.

Pecorino is controlled by th DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata). This means that all products which carry this label must be made in the right region following the right prescribed procedures.


More about pecorino:
Recipe with pecorino

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- This site was realised thanks to the co-operation between the town council and the inhabitants of Torrita di Siena and ten graduated students 2004 from the “Katholieke Hogeschool Mechelen”, Belgium, department communication science, campus De Ham. - © Torrita di Siena