Pecorino cheese

Hard salty cheese based on sheep’s milk was first prepared in the vicinity of Rome. The product was so loved by the locals that it began to be added to most Italian dishes. It is believed that in the classic version of the spaghetti they use not parmesan, but one of the varieties of pecorino.

The product is still being cooked by hand. It matures at least 5 months. Long exposure gives spice, sharpness and significantly increases its cost.

What you need to know about the product, how pecorino varieties differ from each other and what happens to the human body during prolonged use of cheese?

General product characteristics

Pecorino is the common name for a family of Italian cheeses. Italian Pecorino is made from sheep’s milk, in some cases herbs or spices are added. The product has a granular structure that becomes more noticeable as it matures. Ripe cheese literally falls apart into small bars, without losing elasticity and dense consistency.

Etymological note. The name comes from the Italian word with ancient Roman roots “pecora” – a sheep.

Pecorino is much healthier than most Italian cheeses. The main ingredient is sheep’s milk. It abounds in essential amino acids, calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), retinol (A), B vitamins, ascorbic acid (C), nicotinic acid (PP) and tocopherol (E).

In most Italian provinces, pecorino is served as an independent snack or dessert. The product goes well with homemade bread, honey, all kinds of nuts, pears and grapes. But the use of pecorino is not limited to bruschettas or a cheese plate. Cheese is added to soups, cold and warm salads. Shredded pecorino is the eternal companion of traditional spaghetti. When choosing drinks for an Italian evening, focus on classic Chianti. It is this dry red wine from Tuscany that is the most preferred option for all types of pecorino.

It is interesting: the dense head of aged pecorino is used as a sports apparatus in the Italian game Ruzzola. Cheese is tied to the player’s hand with a special ribbon. The participant must throw the product as far as possible. The winning team receives social approval and the very head of the cheese.

Italian Cheese Types

Different recipes for sheep cheese are used in different parts of Italy. Due to geographical features, 4 pecorino is represented on the market. Among them: Romano, Sardo, Toscano, Siciliano.

Pecorino Romano is the most popular variety. This is a salty cheese that is prepared on the island of Sardinia and in the Italian region of Latium. Dense heads of Romano exude a subtle pungent smell. The product is famous for its characteristic salty taste. Cheese ripens within 8-12 months. It is made in large cylindrical molds. The weight of one cheese bar varies from 5 to 22 kilograms, the height is 30 centimeters, and the diameter of the head is 20 centimeters. Romano has a smooth crust and a dense, even texture. It is served as a dessert with honey and jams, added to soups, salads, meat and fish dishes.

Interesting: Romano is popular not only in Spain, but also in the USA. Americans have been exporting food since the 19th century and eat as often as national dishes.

A less popular cheese is Pecorino Siciliano. It is produced in Sicily in two variations: tum and primo sala. Tuma is a young, unsalted product that is known for its delicate texture and soft crust. Prima salé is a more aged and salty cheese with a bright flavor and aroma palette. If the siciliano matures for more than 2 years, then it is called canestrato. The product is left to mature in tall cylindrical heads. At the output, voluminous bars of cheese are obtained, weighing 5-12 kilograms and 10-18 centimeters high.

The third type of product is sardo. This is a boiled pressed cheese, the production of which is controlled by Sardinia. Sardo is considered the most delicate cheese from the pecorino family. It is used as the basis for the preparation of the exotic cheese product casu marzu. This is a semi-decomposed mass, inside which the larvae of the cheese fly live. Sardo has several levels of maturation, at each of which the cheese is ready to eat. The older the bar, the denser the structure and the spicier the taste.

Another variation of Pecorino is Toscano. This is a pressed or soft cheese from the Tuscan settlement of Siena. Cheese is consumed daily not only in Tuscany, but also in the surrounding areas of Umbria and Lazio. An aged Toscano is called a staggionato. The product matures for about 6 months in miniature molds that are smeared with olive oil and strewn with ashes. The finished bar fills the receptors with nutty, oily and aged ashy notes. The younger the cheese, the sweeter, more tender, milky its taste and structure. Many prefer a neutral Toscano variant over a multi-component Staggionato.

Pecorino contains not only sheep’s milk. Enthusiasts create amazing flavor combinations from traditional Italian products and spices. Chopped black pepper, slices of red chili, nuts, basil, arugula, truffles and tomato puree are often added to cheese heads. Culinary specialists add only fresh natural products, which guarantees the quality and benefits of cheese.

Interesting. All varieties of pecorino are endowed with a special status – PDO (Protected Designation of Origin). This means that the cheese is protected by origin. Its production can only be carried out on well-defined Italian lands, to which Pecorino belongs. Making cheese outside the permitted zone without special permission is a crime for which liability is provided.

The chemical composition of pecorino romano 27% fat

The benefits and possible harm of the food component

Sheep’s milk is much healthier than cow’s milk, but consumption of any animal product can be fraught with certain risks. For those who do not want to deprive their diet of cheese products, pecorino is the healthiest and most nutritious alternative.

Indeed, in sheep’s milk there are much fewer harmful enzymes and lactose, which an adult cannot break down and assimilate. What’s more, the product’s nutrient balance is replete with vitamins and minerals that we can’t generate on our own. It has much less salt than most cow’s milk cheeses, but high levels of cholesterol and fat – 30 milligrams and 8 grams, respectively, per 30 grams of pecorino.

We are not able to follow the complete process of dairy products production. There is no guarantee that the animals are kept in proper conditions, fed with wholesome feed without impurities and collecting exactly as much milk as a sheep can give. If these requirements are not met, then we end up on the plate with hormones that stimulate enzymes and toxic substances that are released by animals in stressful situations. It is impossible to predict their impact on humans. Common symptoms are sudden weight gain, hormonal problems, uncontrolled appetite.

Try to reduce the consumption of cheeses, regardless of the composition of the raw materials, to 20-50 grams per day. So you can satisfy your hunger, close the psychological need for your favorite product and protect your body from supersaturation with fats / salt / hormones of animal origin.