Pecorino Romano 
Pecorino Romano is a hard, salty Italian cheese made only from sheep milk, most often grated over pasta. It began in the countryside around Rome and is now made almost entirely in Sardinia.
Key Facts
| Country of Origin | Italy |
| Specific Origin | Lazio, Sardinia, Grosseto |
| Protection | PDO (1996), DOP (1996) |
| Milk Type | Sheep's milk |
| Fat Content | ~36% |
| Rind | Pale yellow to brown or black |
| Texture | Hard |
| Flavor | Sharp, salty |
| Aroma | Strong |
| Colors | White interior, pale yellow to brown/black rind |
| Forms | Wheels, 49–71 lbs, 12–13" high, 11–12" wide |
| Age | 5–8 months or longer |
| Rennet Type | Animal (sheep) |
| Also Known As | Pecorino Romano PDO |
What is Pecorino Romano Cheese?
The earliest version of Pecorino Romano was made in the countryside around Rome. Latin writers including Marcus Terentius Varro and Pliny the Elder described how it was produced about 2,000 years ago. Because it kept well, it fed the Roman legions: a legionary received a daily ration of roughly 27 grams (1 Roman ounce) on top of bread and farro soup.
Production stayed in Lazio until the close of the 19th century. In 1884 the Roman city council banned salting the cheese in grocers' shops, and demand had already outgrown what the Lazio flocks could supply, so producers moved into Sardinia, where cleared land suited large-scale sheep farming. Formal protection followed the 1951 Stresa Convention and the first DOC statuses in 1955, covering Sardinia, Lazio and Grosseto. The Consortium for the Protection of Pecorino Romano Cheese was set up in Macomer in 1979 and took on the PDO in 2002.
It is a cooked cheese made from sheep milk alone. The milk is coagulated with rennet at 38 to 40 C (100 to 104 F). Once the curd firms up, it is cut into pieces the size of a grain of rice and cooked at no more than 48 C (118 F). The rennet has to come from sheep raised in the same area, which means the cheese is not suitable for vegetarians.
The wheels are cylinders with flat faces, 25 to 40 cm tall and 25 to 35 cm across, weighing 20 to 35 kg (44 to 77 lb). The rind is thin and ivory coloured, sometimes coated for protection, and each wheel is stamped with the mark of geographical distinction and the province where it was made.
Most of it is grated over pasta and other dishes, mainly in central and southern Italy. On May Day, Roman families eat pecorino with fresh fava beans on an outing in the Roman Campagna. About 40 percent stays in Italy, and more than half of the exports go to the United States.
How Does Pecorino Romano Cheese Compare?
The most relevant cheeses to compare Pecorino Romano against.
