Description
Pecorino Dolce Cheese
About Pecorino Dolce
If you think Pecorino automatically means hard, salty and something you grate over pasta, Pecorino Dolce might come as a bit of a surprise.
This is the gentler side of Italian sheep’s milk cheese. Young, supple and wonderfully creamy, it has all the richness you expect from sheep’s milk but without the stronger, saltier flavours that develop with long ageing.
The clue is in the name. Dolce means sweet or gentle in Italian, and that’s a pretty good description of what you’re getting.
Young at Heart
Pecorino isn’t one particular cheese but a whole family of Italian cheeses made from sheep’s milk. Depending on where they’re made and how long they’re matured, they can range from young and creamy to hard, crumbly and intensely savoury.
Pecorino Dolce sits firmly at the younger end of the family.
Its shorter maturation allows the character of the sheep’s milk to remain at the forefront. Rather than becoming dry and intensely salty, the paste stays smooth and yielding, with a lovely natural sweetness.
Sheep’s milk is particularly rich in fat and protein, which gives even a relatively young cheese plenty of body. The curds are formed, shaped and salted before the cheese is left to mature just long enough to develop its texture and flavour.
Sometimes you really don’t need to wait years for a cheese to become interesting.
Pecorino Dolce – Jen’s Tasting Notes
Pecorino Dolce has a pale rind and a beautiful ivory-white paste, sometimes dotted with a few small holes.
The aroma is gentle and milky. I pick up fresh cream, warm hay and a little yoghurt-like tang, sometimes with a grassy note in the background.
The first thing that strikes me when I taste it is the sweetness. Not sugary sweet, obviously, but that lovely creamy sweetness you get from good sheep’s milk.
The texture is supple and tender rather than hard or crumbly, and it almost melts on the tongue. There are buttery flavours, a little nuttiness and sometimes a hint of herbs, followed by a clean, gently tangy finish.
If someone tells me they find Pecorino too strong or salty, this is the one I’d give them to change their mind.
How to Serve and Pair Pecorino Dolce
- Make sure you take it out of the fridge a good hour before you want to eat it so it can come up to room temperature.
- Classic pairings: I’d choose a crisp Italian white. Vermentino is lovely because its freshness works beautifully with the sweet, creamy sheep’s milk without overwhelming it.
- Something a little different: A dry cider is surprisingly good. The apple and acidity give you a lovely contrast against the richness of the cheese.
- On the plate: Fresh pear, a drizzle of acacia honey and a handful of almonds are really all you need. A little prosciutto alongside it is rather lovely too.
- In the kitchen: Because it’s younger and softer than many Pecorinos, it melts beautifully. Try it in a panini, an omelette or a savoury tart, or simply cube it into a salad.
Jen’s note: Pecorino Dolce is a really good reminder that you can’t judge a cheese by its family name. Tell someone you’re giving them Pecorino and they might expect something hard, salty and strong. Give them this and they’ll get something soft, sweet and gentle instead. That’s one of the things I love about cheese — there’s nearly always an exception to the rule.
Buying Pecorino Dolce
- Brand or Producer: Caseificio Seggiano
- Product name: Pecorino Dolce
- Milk: Sheep
- Country: Italy
- Region: Tuscany
- Strength: Mild
- Vegetarian: No
- Suitable for pregnancy: Yes
- Allergens: MILK
Sizes and Prices
- 100g wedge, £4.40
- 500g wedge, £22.00
- Whole cheese (approx. 1.5kg), available to pre-order
Storage Advice
- Keep refrigerated
- Wrap in waxed paper or cling film
- Remove from the fridge before serving
- Consume within 10 to 14 days of opening
Delivery and Collection
- UK wide courier delivery
- Click and collect from our Pangbourne shop
- Free local delivery available for selected postcodes
Ingredients (Allergens are listed in capitals)
MILK, salt, starter cultures, rennet
