Crotone province, Calabria — the Marchesato area. Pecorino Crotonese production is documented from the ancient Greek period — the Greek colony of Krotón was famous for its athletes (fed on cheese) and its cattle; sheep farming was well-established. The modern production area remains concentrated around Crotone.
Pecorino Crotonese is the aged sheep's milk cheese of the Marchesato area of Crotone province — one of the oldest documented cheeses of southern Italy, with records tracing the production to ancient Greek settlers of Krotón (modern Crotone). It is produced in three stages: fresco (fresh, 1-2 weeks), semistagionato (medium-aged, 3-6 months), and stagionato (fully aged, 12+ months). The fully aged Crotonese develops a hard, rough grey-brown rind and an intensely concentrated, slightly spicy interior with a pronounced lanolin note from the high sheep milk fat. It is grated over pasta, eaten with fava beans, and used as the primary cheese element in the Calabrian cooking tradition.
Young Crotonese fresco is milky, slightly tangy, and clean. Medium-aged semistagionato develops a firmer texture and a more complex sheep's milk flavour. Stagionato, aged over a year, is concentrated, slightly sharp, with a lanolin depth and a long, warm finish. Grated over pasta, it is not subtle — it is the assertive, ancient flavour of southern Italian sheep farming.
Pecorino Crotonese is made from raw whole sheep's milk coagulated with lamb rennet (caglio di agnello) — the lamb rennet gives a slightly gamier flavour than commercial rennet. The curd is cut to rice-grain size (small curd for harder, drier cheese), cooked briefly at 42-45°C, then pressed in reed baskets (the basket imprint is visible on the rind). The fresh cheese is salted in brine or by hand-rubbing. Aged versions are washed with olive oil and chilli paste (in some producers' traditions) or simply stored in cool caves. The stagionato must be aged a minimum of 12 months; the oldest versions (18-24 months) are used exclusively for grating.
The olive oil and chilli wash given to some Crotonese during aging creates an exterior with an orange-red tinge and a distinctive spiced crust — this version, grated into pasta, adds both fat and chilli depth simultaneously. Old Crotonese grated over fresh pasta with olive oil is a Calabrian standard that requires no other sauce.
Grating the fresco version — the young cheese is too moist and doesn't grate well; use the stagionato for grating. Confusing with generic Pecorino Romano — Crotonese has a more complex, slightly gamey flavour from the lamb rennet and the Calabrian sheep's diet. Storing in the refrigerator (for aged versions) — aged Crotonese should be stored wrapped in a cloth at cool room temperature.
Slow Food Editore, Calabria in Cucina; Juliet Harbutt, World Cheese Book