May 1--Time for Some Pecorino Romano

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Pecorino Romano cheese is one of Italy’s oldest, feeding Roman soldiers 2,000 years ago and appearing in writings by Hippocrates and Pliny the Elder. Most of it is aged for 8 to 12 months and sold with a hard, flaky or grainy texture and a salty, sometimes smoky flavor that is used mainly as an addition to other dishes. But there is also a younger, softer version with a sweeter flavor used as a table cheese.

In other parts of the world, including Italy, May 1 is International Workers Day—like Labor Day in the US. In a celebration of spring, families traditionally take picnics of Pecorino Romano, fresh fava beans and a bottle of wine to the countryside on this day. Towns outside of Rome also host a sagra delle fave e pecorino—a local food festival (sagra) that, on May 1, features fava beans and Pecorino Romano. Pair this with Chianti Classico, Sangiovese or a white Orvieto.

Here are a few more facts about Pecorino Romano. Buon appetito!

  • Pecorino cheese is made from 100 percent sheep’s (pecora) milk.
  • But authentic Pecorino Romano is not just any sheep’s milk. As in the wine industry, some specialty foods receive Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status. This Pecorino Romano milk must come from Lazio, Sardinia and Grosseto in southern Tuscany, and the cheese must be produced there as well.
  • The aforementioned production of the cheese is the same as it was 2,000 years ago. Farmers drain and press the whey from the curds immediately after they’ve formed. The curds are heated and turned out into molds and pressed. The cheese is turned and rubbed with salt daily for the first few days, then every 3 to 4 days, then once a week for 3 to 5 months. The wheels are then aged on pine boards for 5 more months.
  • Italy exports more than 20,000 tons of Pecorino Romano annually, 90 percent of it shipped to North America.
  • The cheese is about 25 percent protein, one reason it was part of the soldiers’ rations. It’s also a good source of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium.
  • Cheese products labeled "Romano" on store shelves are not the same as Pecorino Romano and have no connection with the real cheese.