DOS Sicilia Cheese Supply Chain
Protection Association of Sicilian Pecorino PDO
The New Consortium for the protection of Sicilian Pecorino PDO is a non-profit organization that associates breeders, producers and seasoners.
Its purpose is to protect the protected designation of origin of Pecorino Siciliano DOP.
The Consortium was recognized and authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies (MiPAAF) with DM 15640 of 05 March 2018 to carry out the supervisory functions referred to in article 14, paragraph 15, of the law of 21 December 1999, n. 526.
The consortium therefore has the responsibility of supervising all the components of the production chain in compliance with the provisions contained in the production specification that give Sicilian pecorino DOP the historical, cultural and organoleptic characteristics that make it extraordinary.
Sicilian pecorino DOP is processed only with traditional methods.
Any pecorino is produced from sheep milk and through the same production techniques. Why, then, does Pecorino Siciliano PDO represent an excellence with unique and unrepeatable characteristics outside the original environment?
The quality of Pecorino Siciliano PDO depends significantly on the type of feeding of the sheep and on the method of processing the milk, which sees wood as the best friend of the cheesemaker.
These factors mainly determine the amount of fat and protein, but also the vitamins, polyphenols and numerous antioxidants which, from milk, pass into cheese concentrating 5 times.
But there is more. The green pastures, from which the flock feeds, strongly mark the milk, transferring all the flavors and aromas of the Sicilian territory to it.
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New Consortium for the Protection of Sicilian Pecorino PDO
Friendship Street, 26 Poggioreale (TP)
Tel: +39 338 3972462
Product data sheet
METHOD OF PRODUCTION
the milk used is coagulated with lamb rennet paste at a temperature of about 32 ° C. The curd obtained, after being purged with your hands, is placed in the typical rush baskets, called fascedde, which leave a particular modeling on the surface. The cheese is then seared for about four hours with a hot sear and, after 24 hours, it is started with the salting process. This is practiced dry on the entire surface of the form by repeating the operation twice at a distance of 10 days from each other, washing it with brine when there are signs of drying. Once the salting is complete, the curing phase begins at a temperature of 12-16 ° C with a relative humidity of 7080%, for a period of at least four months. During the maturation phase, the wheels are turned several times inside the baskets to give them the characteristic cylindrical appearance with flat or slightly convex faces and imprinted with the signs of the basket. During this phase, capping with oil or oil sludge is foreseen.
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APPEARANCE AND TASTE
Pecorino Siciliano PDO has a cylindrical shape with flat sides with a 10-18 cm high side. The crust is whitish-yellow in color and has a rough surface that reflects the modeling of the basket in which it was placed. The paste is hard and compact, white or straw yellow in color with slight holes. The weight of the forms varies from 4 to 12 kg; the smell is spicy, fresh and floral; the strong and fruity taste, more markedly spicy for the more mature cheese.
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GASTRONOMY
Pecorino Siciliano PDO can be kept in a cool place or in the refrigerator, in the least cold compartment, at an ideal temperature of 4 ° C. The ideal is to keep it wrapped in the purchase wrapping or in aluminum foil and store it in closed glass or plastic containers. By putting one or two sugar cubes in the containers, it is also possible to keep the product at the right degree of humidity and freshness. It is an excellent table cheese, especially if eaten fresh or semi-seasoned, the Sicilian PDO Seasoned Pecorino is instead widely used as a grating cheese, to flavor first courses, but also in combination with bread and olives that tend to attenuate the flavor. quite spicy. It goes well with Sicilian PDO red wines, better if full-bodied.
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DISTINCTIVE NOTE
The organoleptic peculiarities of Pecorino Siciliano PDO are characterized by a balanced flavor, conferred by a set of elements. Among these, the feeding of the sheep from which the milk used for production is obtained, as well as the quantity of fat present in it, plays a fundamental role.