Pecorino is the only Tuscan cheese that has been awarded the coveted mark of the DOP, Protected Designation of Origin. In all, only 29 Italian cheese have received the mark, making our Pecorino something special, indeed.

The history of Pecorino is a rural one. In the early days, the transumanza, or nomadic shepherds, prepared a fresh cheese during their wanderings with the herds. Many of their methods are followed today. Andrea Righini, director of the Consorzio di Tutela, tells us, "There is a very close bond between a geographical environment, the characteristics of the milk to be transformed into cheese and the production methods, which are still those of the craftsman: this is the great merit of this cheese."

Sheep who graze our grasslands produce a very good milk that is sweet and delicate, yet with a distinctive flavor. The flavors of the milk translate to the cheese, just as they did in centuries past. Shepherds then had to search out lands where olive trees and grape vines could not grow, and they took their herds to graze in the high meadows of the Apennines, the marshes of the Maremma, and the gullies of the Crete Senesi. As they wandered from pasture to pasture, the made and traded their Cacio cheese.

Pliny wrote a good deal on these cheeses in his Natural History, telling of how the arrival of immense wheels of cheese in the capital of the Empire caused excitement. For centuries, the cheese making was conducted in much the same methods as used by the earliest shepherds. In the springtime the appearance of shepherds offering cacio marzolino, the first cheese that curdled in the springtime warmth, was a regular occurrence. These cheeses, fresh or aged, were justly famous. In the 15th century, Plantina, a historian to the Pope, called marzolino "the cheese in Italy," the only that could stand comparison with the already famous Parmigano.

By the 19th century, the art of cheese making was regulated by municipal authorities. This attests to the importance of the cheese, which kept the peasants from starving, and provided income to the great landowners. Pecorino was the regular meal for farm laborers. As stated before, the place of cheese in rural culture was age old, but things soon changed.

Shortly after the end of World War I, the price of lamb and wool, as well as all other sheep's products, took a drastic downturn. Shepherds abandoned their herds and took to farming. Then, only thirty years later, at the end of the second World War, the farmers left the countryside and flocked to the cities in search of new economic opportunities. Grass was no longer planted, families no longer had sons to send to the mountain pastures with the sheep, the sheep were no longer fertilizing the soil. Things were changing, and it didn't look good for the old traditional cheeses of Tuscany.

After a dark period, in the 1960s the production of Tuscan cheeses began to slowly rise again. Shepherds from Sardinia came into Tuscany, and began to graze herds in the abandoned pastures of the Crete Senesi. At about the same time, large scale agricultural, production and distribution facilities began to spring up. The shepherds no longer made their own cheese in their stables, but instead took their milk to processing plants. By 1987 the first mark of guarantee was awarded to protect Tuscan Pecorino, and the depopulation of the pastures began to slow down. Today, new shepherds continue to arrive from Macedonia and Albania, joining the Sardinians and those few Tuscans who never gave up their flocks.

In accordance with the DOC, all aspects of the cheese making process must take place in the designated area of this region. The sheep are pastured in Tuscany, and in a few exceptional border areas with Lazio and Umbria. Sheep farms in Tuscany now number over 2500, and include several breeds. We produce over 38 million liters of sheep's milk a year, and over 10 million of those end up in the cheese factories where they become Pecorino. Righini of the Consorzio di Tutela states that "the production method is essential. It is important not to alter the original characteristics of the milk." A very strict set of temperature controls are applied in the cheese making process, and although some modernization is inevitable, methods are not that different than they were hundreds of years ago, thus continuing to produce a wonderful cheese.

"Pecorino is a play of equilibrium," explains Righini. "The flavor of the grass goes into the milk and ends up in the cheese. In each individual cheese factory a sort of micro environment has been created, over the years, in which special yeasts are present. All of this is what makes a cheese."

According to the IRRE Toscana, Pecorino "should be eaten in the same humble manner in which the Tuscan peasant combated hunger and fatigue: with bread and pears, with raw baccelli beans in the radiant months of Spring, with polenta and slices of garlic for those who like intense, extraordinary tastes, with brown bread and onions on days spent outdoors." They conclude, "Who could ask for anything more in life?"

Because we have featured ideas for enjoying Tuscan Pecorino fairly often in the past, it was somewhat of a challenge to come up with some new ideas, especially after including the IRRE Toscana's wonderful list above. I went searching for more thoughts and found the delightful cookbook, Ciao Italia in Tuscany, by Mary Ann Esposito, the host of the popular American public television series, Ciao Italian.

Esposito gives a few suggestions for using our Pecorino which we will quote here, and be sure to watch for an upcoming issue of the newsletter in which we review a few cookbooks having Tuscany as their subject, including Esposito's.

We begin with Esposito's recipe for "Pecorino con Pepe Nero sott'Olio", or Pecorino Cheese with Black Peppercorns in Olive Oil.

1 pound aged Pecorino cheese with black or green peppercorns

Dried red pepper flakes

Extra-virgin olive oil

Cut the cheese into small cubes and put them into 8- or 12-ounce jars. Sprinkle a few red pepper flakes in the jar. Fill the jars with the oil, making sure to cover the cheese completely. Cap and refrigerate. To use, bring the jars to room temperature. Serve the cheese with some of the oil along with bread.

The cheese will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. Be sure any remaining cheese is covered with oil before placing it back in the refrigerator.

Next, we present Esposito's "Pecorino e Fave" or Pecorino Cheese and Fava Beans.

1 pound aged Pecorino cheese at room temperature

2 pounds shelled Fava beans

Fine sea salt Put the cheese on a cheese board and the Fava beans in a bowl. Have a small bowl of salt. Cut off bite-size pieces of cheese with a cheese knife and eat it with the Fava beans, dipping them first in the salt if you wish.

The above recipes are quoted from the book, Ciao Italia in Tuscany, by Mary Ann Esposito, published by St. Martin's Press, New York.

If you have a favorite trattoria, restaurant, wine bar, or food shop in Tuscany, please let us know about it and we will feature your recommendation or memory in the list we are putting together. You can remain anonymous, or use your name in your recommendation. Please write to us with the subject line: Tuscan Dining, at Tuscanlifeedit@verizon.net, and include any relevant information you may have about the restaurant or shop. Don't worry if you don't remember too many specifics. We look forward to hearing from you!