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Formaggiomania

Posted May 10, 2011 by Sharon 6 Comments

 

What’s one way to tell if you’ve done a half-way decent job at mothering?

When your daughter returns from a business trip to Rome with a big chunk of formaggio pecorino stagionato. This cheese is the color of antique parchment studded with salt crystals that look like pin pricks. Truly, it looks a little intimidating. But on the tongue, it’s sweet and sharp and surprisingly mellow.

Emma had fun purchasing the aged sheep’s milk at the famed Volpetti food shop in the Testaccio neighborhood. “The guy was so nice. He let me taste it,” she said. (Did I mention that she’s young and beautiful?)

Although Emma can’t remember where it was produced. I checked the product list on the Volpetti Web site and if forced to guess, I’d say Messina in Sicily.

Looking at the photograph, does anyone have a more informed opinion? In the meantime, I’ll be nibbling.

Filed Under: Culture, Food, Markets, Miscellany, Rome, Travel Tagged With: formaggio pecorino, italian food, pecorino, Rome, Testaccio, Volpetti

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Comments

  1. JENNIFER says

    June 1, 2011 at 7:44 AM

    This is a great blog.

    Reply
  2. Kuei-Ti Lu says

    May 22, 2011 at 9:12 PM

    I am a cheese beginner, but I am interested in the differences between cheese made from different kind of milk; besides, what are the factors that make cheese taste spiced?

    Reply
  3. edo says

    May 10, 2011 at 2:16 PM

    Hi,
    Reading this post, I have to reply. I live in Tuscany, near Grosseto. Apart from our super red wine, near from where I live we produce one of the best “pecorino” cheese that you can ever taste. I can write for hours but the only thing to do to discover if I am right, its only one: just write me your postal address …I Will send you a taste of it. Please note I am not the producer and I don’t need to make money in this way. I am only a simple Italian that love the best thing of our country, as “pecorino” cheese is. My email is
    edoardo.farinelli@gmail.com
    Ciao!

    Reply
    • Sharon says

      May 10, 2011 at 2:35 PM

      Ciao, Edoardo,

      Thank you for your kind offer but it would cost too much money for you to send me a sample.

      The next time I am in beautiful
      Grosseto, I will visit and taste the pecorino.

      Grazie mille!

      Reply
  4. Massimo Melani says

    May 10, 2011 at 11:30 AM

    Considering the size of the form( about 4kg.) , the colour,and especially the grain of the “pasta”, that form of “pecorino” cheese could come from Sardinia but i’m not so sure….generally sardinian “Pecorinos” taste hot on your tongue I mean they leave for a while a certain spiced flavour and urgent need of a glass of Vermentino di Gallura.

    In the web side they call it “Gransardo”

    “….Sheep cheese invented at the end of the 90s in Sardinia in the province of Sassari.
    Such product was created to promote a new kind of Sardinian pecorino: as for the production procedure, the size and the aging is similar to Parmigiano Reggiano.
    Differently from Parmigiano and other “grana” cheeses made with cows milk, it has a slightly stronger taste with a wild note typical of the sheeps milk.”

    Reply
  5. The Food Hunter says

    May 10, 2011 at 10:23 AM

    very cool. It sounds wonderful

    Reply

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