Pecorino Sardo — Aging Stages and Uses

Origin

Sardinia — the sheep farming tradition of the island is ancient; Sardinia produces more sheep's milk per capita than any other European region. DOP status since 1996.

Description

Pecorino Sardo DOP is made from whole raw or pasteurised Sardinian sheep's milk — the sheep of the Sardinian interior are among the most numerous and best-maintained flocks in Europe, and the milk reflects their diet of aromatic macchia (scrubland herbs). Pecorino Sardo exists in two forms: Dolce (aged 20-60 days, pale, mild, semi-firm) and Maturo (aged 2-12 months, from compact and tangy at 2 months to hard, crumbly, and intensely sharp at 12 months). The Maturo is used as a grating cheese across Sardinian pasta and as an eating cheese.

III

The Thread

—Hard, aged sheep's milk cheese from island Mediterranean flocks — both Pecorino Sardo and kefalotyri are the hard grating cheeses of their respective island-sheep-farming traditions; similar milk source, similar aging principles, different rind treatment Greek

—Aged sheep's milk DOP cheese — Manchego and Pecorino Sardo are the two most recognised European aged sheep's milk cheeses; the Sardinian sheep's macchia diet produces a more complex, herbal flavour than the Castilian sheep's grain-supplemented diet Spanish

Flavour Context

Young Dolce: mild, milky, with a floral and herbaceous note from the macchia diet — pleasant without complexity. Maturo at 6 months: compact, slightly crumbly, with a salt-and-sheep richness and a moderate sharpness. At 12 months: intensely sharp, almost granular, with the full aromatic complexity of aged sheep's milk — a grating cheese of real character.

Pillars V — VII

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