🧀 Pecorino delle Balze Volterrane

Pecorino delle Balze Volterrane is an Italian cheese with a protected designation of origin (PDO), made exclusively from raw whole sheep's milk and vegetable rennet. It is produced in the municipalities of Volterra, Pomarance, Montecatini Val di Cecina, Castelnuovo Val di Cecina and Monteverdi in the province of Pisa, Tuscany.

The milk comes from flocks of Sarda sheep reared in a semi-wild system; at least two thirds of their feed must be grazed in the area, and they may not be fed GMOs. The rennet is vegetable, from the flowers of wild cardoon or artichoke (Cynara cardunculus), so the milk coagulates more slowly and gently and the cheese is milder. The cheesemaking temperature stays below 40 degrees Celsius, so the aromas of local grasses and flowers stay in the cheese. According to the specification, the cheese was traditionally matured in natural caves, and modern rooms copy their conditions of 7 to 10 degrees and 70 to 90 % humidity.

Four types are sold by ripening: fresh, 7 to 44 days; semi-mature, 45 days to six months; mature, 6 to 12 months; and extra-mature, over 12 months. The cheese is cylindrical with flat ends, 10 to 20 cm across and 5 to 15 cm high, weighing 600 g to 2 kg, and up to 7 kg for extra-mature. Fat in dry matter is above 45 % and protein above 20 %. The rind is pale straw yellow to deep yellow, and grey after coating in olive oil and ash. The paste is compact and hardly crumbly, white when fresh and straw yellow when aged, sometimes with irregular holes. The aroma recalls milk and wild cardoon, and the taste is mild at first with a long, slightly spicy aftertaste that grows with age.

Farming, cheesemaking and maturing all take place in the production area. The label shows the name with DOP, the ripening type, the producer, the logo and the Union symbol; on portions the name must be repeated at least four times.