🧀 Pecorino Toscano

Pecorino Toscano is an Italian PDO cheese, soft or semi-hard, made only from whole sheep's milk from its own area. That area covers all of Tuscany, two municipalities in Umbria and eleven in Lazio ³. The name has been protected in the EU since 1996 ¹², and the current specification was approved on 16 October 2025 ³.

The specification speaks of this cheese existing in Etruscan times and notes that it used to be named after its origin, including simply "Toscano" ³. The consortium traces its history to the cheese of Luni written about by Pliny the Elder, and mentions "cacio marzolino" in the 1400s and Platina, who in the 15th century set "Marzolino of Etruria" beside parmesan ⁴. This is the producers' own account.

The sheep are fed mainly on green or dried fodder from local natural pastures, and feed from outside the area may not exceed 30% of dry matter per year. The milk may be raw or heat-treated up to pasteurisation, and natural or selected local cultures may be added ³.

The milk is coagulated at 33–38 °C with calf or vegetable rennet in 20–25 minutes. The curd is cut to the size of a hazelnut for the soft type and a maize kernel for the aged one, which may also be heated at 40–42 °C for 10–15 minutes. Whey is removed by hand pressing or steaming. Salting is dry or in 17–19% brine: at least 8 hours per kilogram for the soft type and 12 for the aged. Maturing takes place at 5–15 °C and 75–95% humidity ³.

The soft type matures for at least 20 days, its paste is white to slightly straw-coloured and it has at least 45% fat in dry matter; the term semi-mature means from 60 days. The aged type takes at least 4 months, has a compact paste and at least 40% fat; the term reserve means from 8 months. Wheels 15–30 cm across weigh 0.75–10 kg ³. The specification describes the flavour as mild, never savoury or sharp ³; the consortium notes butter and hay in the fresh cheese and dried fruit and hay in the aged ⁵⁶.

On the label, the words "Pecorino Toscano DOP" or "DOP stagionato" must be the most prominent. The mark has a three-digit code: a first digit of 1–3 means a dairy, 4–6 a maturer, 7–9 a cutter ³. The mark is inked on the soft cheese and fire-branded on the aged ⁷.

Why it matters to you. Serve it as a table cheese or grate it ³. The milk may be raw, so check the ingredients: among unpasteurised cheeses, the NHS considers only hard ones safe in pregnancy, as well as any cheese cooked until steaming hot ⁹. The rind may be treated with an anti-mould product ³. The consortium gives about 0.4 g of lactose per 100 g in the fresh cheese and none in cheese aged over 4 months ⁸.