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Cheese from Italy, Sicilia

Pecorino rossoPicurinu russu

Raw whole ewe milk is set with lamb or kid rennet paste at 34–35 °C in a wooden vat, and the curd is broken to lentil size, pressed into rush baskets and scalded about 4 hours in hot whey. It is dry-salted twice and ripens at least 4 months in cool cellars. At about 2 months the rind is coated with olive oil and tomato sauce, which turns it red.

Fully documentedCheese4.3 monthsPAT (traditional food product, Sicilia; list of D.M. 16 February 2018)Family: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheets give no amounts. A cheese weighs 4–12 kg.
Raw whole ewe milkFrom one or two milkings of free-range or semi-free flocks[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Lamb rennet paste, sometimes kid[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Salt[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Ground chilli (optional)Added to the curd when the maker wants it[onaf-sheet]
Olive oil and tomato sauceSpread on the rind at about 2 months[onaf-sheet]
Starternone; the raw milk's own microflora

Total time across the recorded steps: 4.3 months

Start
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34–35 °C

What changes: Lamb or kid rennet paste sets the warm milk in a wooden vat

Step 1 of 7
Set in the wooden vat
Time
45 min
Reported
Temperature
34–35 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: curd.

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

Raw whole ewe milk is set with lamb or kid rennet paste at 34–35 °C in a wooden vat, and the curd is broken to lentil size, pressed into rush baskets and scalded about 4 hours in hot whey. It is dry-salted twice and ripens at least 4 months in cool cellars. At about 2 months the rind is coated with olive oil and tomato sauce, which turns it red. Made in 7 steps over 4.3 months. The longest step, ripen in a cool cellar, takes at least 4 months (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…) and runs at 12–16 °C (Regione Siciliana 2018).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 4 monthsReported[onaf-sheet][pat-sheet]Ripen in a cool cellar
Temperature12–16 °CReported[pat-sheet]Ripen in a cool cellar

What makes this one different

The red comes from a coat of olive oil and tomato sauce on the rind, not from saffron or chilli in the paste as in some Tuscan and Sardinian red pecorinos. Because the coat goes on at about 2 months, it is never sold as a fresh tuma or primosale.

Rind
Smooth, oily and tomato-red from the oil and tomato coat
Size
18–35 cm across, 10–18 cm high, 4–12 kg
Season
Made from February to October

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is raw and no starter is used. ANSES advises pregnant women, people over 65, people with weak immunity and young children to avoid raw-milk cheeses.

History and sources

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

The ONAF sheet says ewe cheese has always been tied to household subsistence across Sicily, and that its ripening has long used the dark dregs of olive oil (the fondame at the bottom of the bottle) and tomato, spread on the rind.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Siciliana, Prodotti Agroalimentari Tradizionali (2018, D.M. 16 febbraio 2018), sheet 'Pecorino rosso' (copy hosted by ONAF; its method text is the generic Sicilian picurinu method)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Pecorino rosso', PAT Regione Siciliaweb
  3. [onaf] ONAF, scheda formaggio 'Pecorino rosso' (id 1233)web
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov