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Cheese from Italy, Emilia-Romagna

Pecorino dell'Appennino Reggiano

Whole ewe milk is set with calf or lamb rennet in 20–30 minutes, at 36 °C for the soft type from pasteurised milk or 39 °C for the semi-hard type from raw or thermised milk. The curd drains in cascine moulds, is stoved and dry-salted every 12 hours for one or two days. The soft type ripens 30 days to 3 months with an oiled rind; the semi-hard type ripens 3–12 months under a grey-green natural mould.

Fully documentedCheese31 days – 12 monthsPAT (traditional food product, Emilia-Romagna), with a producers' disciplinareFamily: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe disciplinare gives no batch amounts. A cheese weighs 1–2.5 kg.
Whole ewe milkSheep fed at least 90 % on forage from the production area[disciplinare]
Selected or natural lactic cultures, in whey or ewe milk from the areaadvised[disciplinare]
Calf or lamb rennet, liquid or powder[disciplinare]
SaltDry salt, or brine for a few hours[disciplinare]
Olive oil, seed oil or vinegar for the rindoptional (soft type)[disciplinare]
Starterselected or natural cultures in whey or ewe milk from the area, advised by the rules for all types

Total time across the recorded steps: 31 days – 12 months

Start
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63 °C

What changes: Milk for the semi-hard type is warmed to 63 °C for 5 minutes, or used raw

Step 1 of 6
Prepare the milk
Time
5 min
Set
Temperature
63 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Whole ewe milk is set with calf or lamb rennet in 20–30 minutes, at 36 °C for the soft type from pasteurised milk or 39 °C for the semi-hard type from raw or thermised milk. The curd drains in cascine moulds, is stoved and dry-salted every 12 hours for one or two days. The soft type ripens 30 days to 3 months with an oiled rind; the semi-hard type ripens 3–12 months under a grey-green natural mould. Made in 6 steps over 31 days – 12 months. The longest step, ripen with washing, takes 30 days – 12 months (Disciplinare di produzione del Pecorino dell'…). Selected or natural lactic cultures in whey or ewe milk from the area, advised for all types does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step30 days – 12 monthsSet[disciplinare]Ripen with washing
Temperature63 °CSet[disciplinare]Prepare the milk

What makes this one different

The rules set two types from ewe milk, a pasteurised soft cheese and a raw or thermised semi-hard one. The semi-hard cheese must grow natural grey-green moulds on its rind, and no anti-mould agents are allowed.

Rind
Pale white-yellow (soft) to brown with grey-green moulds (semi-hard)
Size
1.0–2.5 kg; cylinder, Ø 15–22 cm, side 7–11 cm (never above half the diameter)
Composition
Fat in dry matter at least 45 % (fresh) or 40 % (aged)
Season
Made mainly March to September, but allowed all year

Related ferments

Variants

  • Pasta teneraPasteurised milk; ripened 30 days to 3 months; oiled rind.
  • Pasta semiduraRaw or thermised milk; semi-cooked; ripened 3–12 months with natural grey-green moulds.

Safety

The soft type uses pasteurised milk and may be sold after 30 days; the semi-hard type uses raw or thermised milk and may be sold only after 90 days. In a challenge study, E. coli O157 added to raw ewe milk was still detectable in pecorino after 90 days.

Hazards the sources name: Escherichia coli O157 in raw ewe milk; in a challenge study it was still detectable in pecorino after 90 days of ripening.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

ONAF's sheet says sheep and goat flocks dominated the Reggio Apennines from the start of the 11th century, and that abbey records until the 15th century mention cheese made from sheep milk. In 1800 the agronomist Filippo Re counted 67,000 sheep in the Reggio area, but by the end of that century dairy cows were favoured and sheep numbers fell. A shepherds' league (Lega dei pastori) was founded on the Reggio Apennines in January 1921. The mountain community still had over 19,000 sheep in 1982, mostly milk sheep, and under 5,000 by the early 2000s. ONAF puts the number of shepherds with milk sheep at about thirty.

  1. [disciplinare] Disciplinare di produzione del Pecorino dell'Appennino Reggiano (producers' rules drawn up with the Conva consortium for the PAT listing; copy hosted by ONAF)spec
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Pecorino dell'Appennino reggiano'web
  3. [centorotola2021] Centorotola G., Sperandii A.F., Tucci P. et al. 2021, Survival rate of Escherichia coli O157 in artificially contaminated raw and thermized ewe milk in different Pecorino cheese production processes, International Journal of Food Microbiology 347:109175, doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2021.109175 (abstract)paper