This cheese is made with sheep’s milk, hence the name (pecora in Italian means sheep). It is considered one of the tastiest and most revered cheeses of Italy and can be eaten alone or, once aged, grated to enhance the flavor of numerous dishes. Three Italian regions created their version of pecorino cheese: Lazio with pecorino romano (from Rome), Sardinia with pecorino sardo, and the south of Tuscany with pecorino toscano. It is impossible to establish a location and a date for the birth for this cheese, because it was initially made by shepherds with the daily milk obtained from their sheep during the transhumances - the seemingly endless travels from one region to another to search for optimal pastures.
En energizer for Roman soldiers
Ancient Roman soldiers ate a lot of pecorino cheese, as it is a very energetic food and it is easy to digest. When aged, it can be kept for a long time and they could transport it to distant camps. It was also practical to make, due to the abundance of sheep grazing in the countryside.
There was even a mandatory ration of 27 grams of cheese (approximately one ounce) per legionary, to eat alongside bread and the spelt soup that was the Roman army’s primary meal. Homer first described the way sheep milk became cheese, but it was the Roman Columella, an expert in agriculture born in Spain in the year 4 B.C., who wrote a precise account of all the steps of production in his famous book in Latin, De re Rustica. Still to this day, pecorino cheese is produced following those rules from more than 2,000 years ago.
Half of production is exported
The best wine to pair with such a tasty cheese is a young, red and perfumed wine, like a Tuscan Chianti Classico, or a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, or a Nebbiolo from Piedmont.
Speaking of wine, the regions of Marche and Abruzzi produce a white wine called Pecorino that holds scents of apple, licorice and jasmine. Its name comes from the habit of having sheep grazing among its wines.
The right wine
The best wine to pair with such a tasty food is a young, red and perfumed wine, like a Tuscan Chianti Classico, or a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, or a Nebbiolo from Piedmont.
Speaking of wine, the regions of Marche and Abruzzi produce a white wine called Pecorino that scents of apple, licorice and jasmine. Its name comes from the habit of having sheep grazing among its wines.
