🧀 Pecorino Sardo

Pecorino Sardo is a semi-cooked Italian cheese with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), made exclusively from whole ewe's milk, thermised or pasteurised. The whole process, from rearing the sheep to ripening, takes place in the Autonomous Region of Sardinia.

How it is made. The sheep feed mainly on natural pastures, meadows and grasslands, supplemented with fodder and concentrates. According to the specification summary, the curd is broken into granules the size of a hazelnut for Dolce and of a corn grain for Maturo, then heated to the desired consistency, pressed, salted and ripened. Maturo may be smoked naturally.

Dolce ("mild"). Ripened for 20 to 60 days; 1–2.3 kg, 15–18 cm across, heel 8–10 cm. The rind is thin, smooth and soft, white or light straw-coloured; the paste is white, soft and springy, with small sparse holes. The taste is sweet and aromatic or slightly acidic; fat is at least 40% of the dry matter.

Maturo ("matured"). Ripened for at least 2 months; 1.7–4 kg, 15–22 cm across, heel 10–13 cm. The rind is smooth and firm, straw-coloured when young and brown when older. The paste is white and springy when young; in older cheeses it is hard, sometimes slightly grainy, turning straw-yellow. The taste is pleasantly sharp; fat is at least 35% of the dry matter. Maturo ripened at least 4 months in the production area may also be sold grated.

Labelling. The producer stamps the PDO logo on the wheel in indelible food ink when it leaves the production zone. The label shows the word Dolce or Maturo and an alphanumeric code identifying the cheese. After ripening in Sardinia the cheese may be sold whole, grated or in portions.

The name has been registered in the EU as a PDO since 1996 (Commission Regulation (EC) No 1263/96); the specification was later amended (Regulations (EU) No 215/2011 and No 313/2014).