About pecorinos?

[Chimayo Joe]

I know very little about pecorinos(and cheeses generally.)  Pecorino Romano is probably the only one I've ever had, and I can't say it's one of my favorite cheeses.  How do some of the other pecorinos compare to Romano?

 

 I'm not sure what's available to me locally.  I have seen Pecorino Calabrese in the supermarket.  Would that be like Crotonese that's been aged longer? (Not that I have any idea what Crotonese tastes like, ha!)  

 

[Katie Meadow]

Actually I like most all the pecorinos better than Pecorino Romano. I don't know where you live, but there are lots of pecorino cheeses and different ones might be sourced where you are. The ones I see most often where I buy cheese are P. Stagionata, Molitarno, Maturo, Toscano, Renero, Classico, Calabrese and Antico. Typically there will be a couple of them in stock, but sometimes only one. I'm sure there must be dozens of others. Stagionata is my favorite, Antico my least favorite, although it is pretty common. Sometimes Stagionata comes truffled, which is very good but pricier. I don't see Calabrese very often, but I remember liking it. When there is no pecorino (or I'm shopping away from my home turf)  I will get Fiore Sardo, which is reliably available lots of places--and seems to travel well on a road trip.)

 

Anyway, I'm a big fan. I always have some type of aged hard pecorino on hand and use it on pasta, as a soup garnish, etc. And I often sub it when recipes call for Parmesan, which I don't like as much. I'm a creature of habit and in my shopping orbit really there is only one large cheese department and I rarely go out hunting for variety; there's usually something to make me happy. Try what ever pecorino comes your way. Most of them are very likable! 

[heidih]

Oh yes - a wonderful segment of cheese. I like this article  https://books.google.com/books?id=c7cacFl04bgC&pg=PA518&lpg=PA518&dq=pecorino+cheees&source=bl&ots=awjswZ2MIU&sig=ACfU3U2seyR9Yb-eXOjjm7bLn_yP8Y7D1g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj6xcyO6KrgAhURVK0KHRZBBiEQ6AEwBnoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=pecorino cheees&f=false   and overall I love the work Sister Noella does amazing work https://www.finecooking.com/article/heavenly-cheeses   On a fresher note I am plotting goat milk soft cheese ala Ethiopian  buttermilk standard.  My "cheese awakening" as a teen was in Corsica so I have a bit of bias  http://www.gustidicorsica.com/en/5/filiere/corsican-cheese.html

 

[Chimayo Joe]

Thanks for the info.  I bought some Pecorino Calabrese tonight but haven't tried it yet.  The supermarket also has Pecorino Tartufello which I understand to be a Toscano with black truffles that has only been aged a month.  I'm sure I'll buy some of that sometime.

 

I also bought some Piave (a fairly hard cow milk cheese I've never had.) I haven't tried that one yet either.  I'm hoping it will be good grated over pasta.  I'm mainly looking for cheeses to vary with Parmigiano-Reggiano (which I dearly love) in that role.  

[Chimayo Joe]

I like Pecorino Calabrese a bit more than Pecorino Romano.  It's like Romano lite--less pungent but still pretty salty.  It had been a while since I've had Romano, but recently I'm finding that I even like that more than I used to.  Not sure why that is, maybe some sort of lingering cheese phobia from childhood that I'm finally shaking off completely LOL.  Not pecorino, but I've picked up a  small amount of Ewephoria (aged sheep's milk gouda) to try.  Like I said in my original post I know very little about cheeses, so this is a whole new world for me.

 

I also liked the Piave(aged red label.) Much milder than Parm-Reg but still nice flavor.

 

And I bought Liz Thorpe's The Book of Cheese which I think is going to be tremendously useful to me.  Amazon has it for $22 ($40 retail hardcover.) It's a really nice book.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Cheese-Essential-Discovering-Cheeses/dp/1250063450/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Liz+thorpe&qid=1550275537&s=books&sr=1-1

 

 

Edited February 16, 2019 by Chimayo Joe
Added link (log)

[Katie Meadow]

1 hour ago, Chimayo Joe said:

I like Pecorino Calabrese a bit more than Pecorino Romano.  

 

 

I like it better too.

[weinoo]

It's pretty hard to find true pecorino Romano, that is, pecorino made in or around the provinces of Lazio/Rome.

 

If you can, it's quite delicious, as are many other pecorinos of course. But very little is actually made around Rome, and to my taste, those that are, are the best.