🧀 Pecorino del Monte Poro

Pecorino del Monte Poro is an Italian cheese with a protected designation of origin (PDO), made from raw whole sheep's milk. It is produced in the municipalities of the Monte Poro district in the province of Vibo Valentia, Calabria.

The milk comes from two milkings (the evening before and the morning of cheesemaking) of free-range sheep that are penned only at night. Their diet is made up of plants native to Monte Poro, fresh in summer and as hay in winter. In bad years up to 30 % of the forage may come from outside the area, and during lactation up to 15 % of the diet may be grain and pulses; GMOs are not allowed. The milk is curdled with rennet from the fourth stomach of milk-fed lambs or kids, and cheesemaking takes place at low temperatures (32 to 38 degrees Celsius). According to the specification, the scrub and herbs of the plateau give the cheese its bouquet, and the cheese is mentioned in sources going back to 1571.

There are three types by ripening: fresco, 20 to 60 days; semistagionato, 61 days to six months; and stagionato, 6 to 24 months. The cheese is round with flat faces, 6 to 40 cm across and 3 to 20 cm high, weighing from 300 g to 10 kg. The rind is hard and coarse, golden yellow in fresco and light to medium brown in the others, with a reddish tone when coated with chilli pepper and extra virgin olive oil. The paste is compact, sometimes with small eyes, white in fresco and straw yellow in the others. Fat in dry matter is above 45 % and protein above 20 %. The taste recalls wild flowers, Mediterranean scrub and hay, with a nutty note that grows stronger with age and a pronounced sharpness in stagionato.

The label shows the name, DOP, the ripening type and the logo. The cheese is sold whole or in portions.