Niolo
Niolo is a Corsican sheep's or goat's milk cheese made only in the Niolo region, the high valley of the Golo. It is a flat square tomme with a washed ivory rind and a sticky paste that runs from mild to sharp or strong after 3 to 4 months in a damp cellar.
Key Facts
| Country of Origin | France |
| Specific Origin | Casamaccioli, Corsica |
| Milk Type | Goat's or sheep's milk |
| Rind | Washed |
| Texture | Soft |
| Flavor | Mild, sharp or strong depending on aging |
| Aroma | Strong |
| Colors | Ivory rind |
| Forms | Square tomme with rounded edges, flat block 12 to 14 cm per side, 500 to 700 g |
| Age | 3 to 4 months |
| Also Known As | Fromage Fermier de Brebis du Niolu, Niulincu, Niolu de brebis fermier |
What is Niolo Cheese?
Niolo, called Niulincu in Corsican, is made exclusively in the Niolo region, which occupies the high valley of the Golo. The area was long the heart of Corsican shepherding. The transhumance trail and the many Genoese bridges around the Niolo still mark the routes shepherds used to go down to the coastal plains in winter and back up to the summer pastures. Those two movements produced two types of cheese, made twice a year, and they spread the know-how of the Niolo shepherds into the Filosorma, the Balagne, the eastern plain and the Vicolais.
The Second World War, the end of transhumance from the middle of the last century and later the obligation to make cheese to imposed standards cost the region most of its shepherds. A few small producers still keep the old method going, spread across the five communes of the Niolo: Albertacce, Casamaccioli, Calacuccia, Lozzi and Corscia.
It is made from sheep's milk or goat's milk. After curdling, draining and several turnings, the cheese is unmoulded the next day. It is salted dry on both faces and laid in a trough, packed tight against its neighbours, which is where the shape comes from. Aging lasts 3 to 4 months in a damp cellar.
The finished cheese is a square tomme with rounded edges, a flat block 12 to 14 cm per side weighing 500 to 700 g, with soft paste under a washed rind the colour of ivory. Cellar aging brings animal and spicy notes. The paste is sticky, and its taste is mild, sharp or strong depending on how long the cheese was aged. The best months to eat it run from April to September, during the transhumance.
How Does Niolo Cheese Compare?
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