Pecorino di Picinisco

Appearance & taste

Pecorino di Picinisco is a cylindrical wheel with flat faces, 12 to 25 cm in diameter and 7 to 12 cm high. The rind is thin, wrinkled and straw-yellow, the paste compact with few holes. It comes in two types, which are stated on the label.

The young “Scamosciato” ripens for 30 to 60 days, weighs 0.7 to 2.5 kg and has a white to straw-yellow paste with less than 45 % moisture. It tastes sweet, with the strong aroma of mountain pasture herbs. The “Stagionato” ripens for more than 90 days, weighs 0.5 to 2 kg and has a straw-yellow paste with less than 35 % moisture. It tastes savoury and full-bodied, becoming sharp as it matures, likewise with a strong herbal aroma. According to the specification, neither has any smell of the stable.

Production

The milk comes from sheep of the Sopravissana, Comisana and Massese breeds or crosses with at least one of them. Up to 25 % may be goat’s milk from the native Capra grigia ciociara and Capra bianca Monticellana breeds, because a few goats traditionally run with the sheep flocks. The animals graze for at least eight months a year; at least 70 % of their feed comes from the area. The basis is natural pasture and green fodder from the area, supplemented by at most 30 % cereals, protein crops and milling by-products; in autumn and winter they mainly eat hay. Silage is only permitted for animals that are not milked.

Only raw whole milk is used, without added lactic acid cultures. It is coagulated with rennet paste from lambs or kids raised in the area and fed only on their mother’s milk; according to the specification, this rennet contains lipases that are practically absent from calf rennet. When the curd is cut, the coagulation temperature is maintained, so that less whey is released and the paste is compact and supple after ripening. The wheels are then shaped, cleaned, salted and ripened. The cheese is made all year round, and everything from rearing the animals to ripening takes place in the area.

Origin & history

The Comino valley lies in southern Lazio, a few kilometres north of Cassino and east of Sora, on the western edge of the Meta-Mainarde massif. The area covers 20 municipalities over more than 61,535 ha, partly in the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park. The climate is temperate, with an annual mean of 14 °C in the valley and 5 °C at altitude, and plentiful rain, from 1,460 mm in Atina and Picinisco to over 1,600 mm on the peaks. Because there is no summer drought, the animals feed mainly on natural meadows and pastures with brome, tor-grass, sedges, kidney vetch and many other plants. In summer the flocks traditionally move up to the mountain pastures. According to the specification, the long grazing season makes the milk rich in carotenoids and terpenes, which contribute to the straw-yellow colour and the aroma of the cheese.

According to the specification, the centuries-old production is attested by writings from the 17th century, a statistical survey of the Kingdom of Naples from 1811 and archive records of the municipality of Picinisco such as consignment notes and sales licences. Livestock censuses from 1875 to 2000 show many sheep and goats in the area, especially in Picinisco, with its localities Fontitune and Valleporcina, after which the cheese is named. Numerous festivals around sheep farming and pecorino take place in the area, such as the annual Festival della pastorizia in Picinisco.