Cheese from spicy, fresh and floral aroma, with a strong and fruity taste, more markedly spicy as the seasoning increases: Pecorino Siciliano DOP, an island agro-food excellence with a long history, was the absolute protagonist on 23 July, to the Real Bourbon Casina of Bosco della Ficuzza (PARÁ) of a one-day event organized by DOS Sicilia, the Association of Consortia for the Promotion and Enhancement of typical Sicilian agri-food products with the DOP, IGP and QS brands.
The venue is important Royal Bourbon Casina of Bosco della Ficuzza built in 1799 for King Ferdinand III of Sicily, who wanted it as a summer estate to be used for hunting and where Ferdinand of Bourbon lived continuously from 1810 to 1813 for a cheese with a long history which has its origins in the classical Greek world much appreciated by Pliny the Elder, who for the first time in his Naturalis Historia classifying national and foreign cheeses of the Classical Era, spoke of Sicilian cheese defining it as one of the best cheeses of the time.
A bouquet of typical scents of the Trinacria pastures is the visiting card of Pecorino Siciliano DOP that the initiative at the Real Casina Borbonica in Bosco della Ficuzza (PA) strongly wants to promote on the markets. In fact, its quality depends significantly on the type of feeding of the sheep and on the method of transformation of the milk, which sees wood as the cheesemaker's best friend. Factors that mainly determine the amount of fat and protein but also vitamins, polyphenols and the numerous antioxidants that pass from the milk to the cheese, concentrating as many as 5 times.
Raw sheep's milk coagulates with rennet into lamb paste in wooden vats, after which the curd is placed in rush baskets, the so-called fascedde.
A semi-cooked paste, it is produced with whole raw sheep's milk, coming from animals raised throughout the region and fed mainly on pasture. Cylindrical in shape, it has a yellowish white crust and a rough surface, which follows the modeling of the basket in which it is placed and the weight of the wheels varies from 3 to 15 kg. With the new production regulations, the typologies foresee the production of fresh Pecorino Siciliano DOP, aged from 20 to 30 days with or without the black pepper berries, of semi-aged Pecorino Siciliano DOP, aged from 60 to 90 days with or without the black pepper berries and Pecorino Siciliano PDO aged at least 120 days. In the seasoned one the consistency of the paste is hard and compact, soft and pasty in the other types.
“Production – explains the President of the Consortium for the Protection of Sicilian Pecorino DOP Domenico Ferranti – takes place with the raw whole sheep's milk which is coagulated with lamb rennet in wooden vats at a temperature of 36-38 degrees, after which the The curd is placed in rush baskets, the so-called "fascedde"., which leave the characteristic pattern on the surface. After being blanched, the cheese is subjected to salting in brine or dry which is repeated twice at an interval of ten days, after which the stage of seasoning on wooden boards. The Consortium that I represent has the responsibility of ensuring that all the components of the production chain comply with the provisions contained in the specification, so that those historical, cultural and organoleptic characteristics that make it extraordinary can be preserved".
il raw whole sheep's milk which is coagulated with lamb rennet in wooden vats at a temperature of 36-38 degrees, after which the The curd is placed in rush baskets, the so-called "fascedde".,
The event focused on Pecorino siciliano DOP is part of an "ambitious and shared project, which aims to draw the attention of the media and consumers to the territories of origin of the most significant products of this land - says the President of DOS Sicilia, Massimo Todaro - "the important objectives of enhancement and promotion, especially in the field of communication, are within reach thanks to the educational tool, thanks to which we hope to be able to transmit to everyone, consumers and stakeholders, the value, cultural and naturally gastronomic heritage that these specialties embody".
In total there are 17 scheduled meetings dedicated to Sicilian agri-food excellence and they all last one day. After the summer break, meetings resume on 8 September with Pesca di Leonforte IGP, followed by Pistacchio Verde di Bronte DOP on 30 October and Ragusano cheese DOP in November. The other meetings are scheduled for 2024 and will concern the Monti Iblei DOP Oil, the QS Cow's Milk Consortium, the Pachino IGP Tomato, the Novella di Ispica IGP Carrot and the Piacentinu Ennese DOP and finally the educationals with the QS Sheep's Milk Consortium and with the Agnello and Agnellone Consortium.
