Dipasquale Formaggi, Casa del Formaggio S. Anna
Family cheese shop that grew from a 1950s shop in central Ragusa, where Carmelo Dipasquale selected and aged cheeses in natural caves. Now on Corso Italia, with oil, wine and cured meats.
About Maiorchino
A very large pecorino of the Peloritani mountains in the province of Messina. Slow Food gives raw sheep's milk with about 20 percent goat's milk and sometimes up to 20 percent cow's, set with kid or lamb rennet paste; the curd is cooked in a tinned copper cauldron, packed into wooden hoops and pricked by hand with an iron needle to let out air and whey, then dry-salted for 20 to 30 days and ripened for up to 24 months in underground stone cellars. Wheels are about 35 cm across, 12 cm high and 10 to 18 kg. It is a Slow Food presidium and, per Italian Wikipedia, a PAT, not a protected name.
Made in: Peloritani mountains, province of Messina
On the plate
Delicate for a pecorino, turning piquant with age (Italian Wikipedia). Slow Food describes a compact white paste tending to straw under an amber-yellow rind that darkens to brown; Italian Wikipedia adds that from the third month the rind is treated with Sicilian olive oil.
Rind: natural crust
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Maiorchino
Etna Rosso crus (firm tannin) Sicily
Our pickMaiorchino is delicate for a pecorino when young and turns piquant, ageing from about 8 months to as long as 24. Etna Rosso crus bring firm tannin, high acidity and dark cherry depth, the structure for an old, sharp wheel.
Mamertino Rosso Sicily
Our pickMamertino is a red of the Milazzo hills in Messina province, the province whose Peloritani mountains make Maiorchino. Its dark cherry fruit and herbal bitterness suit an aged, piquant sheep cheese.
The grapes behind these winesNerello MascaleseNero d'Avola
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
Dipasquale Formaggi, Marina di Ragusa
Second Dipasquale shop, opened in 2007 on the coast at Marina di Ragusa, alongside the Corso Italia shop.
Cheese experiences nearby
Guided visit and cheese tasting at Feudo Pollichino
Guided visit of an organic sheep farm and dairy, ending with a tasting of its DOP cheeses, fresh zabbinata and ricotta desserts. Bookings go through the farm's contact page.
We Cheese, Ragusano DOP and the cheeses of the Iblei
Four-day cheese event in the streets of Ragusa Ibla built around Ragusano DOP: tastings, live cheesemaking, themed restaurant menus and guided visits of historic palaces. The second edition was held 23 to 26 July 2026.
FAM, Fiera Agroalimentare Mediterranea
Ragusa's agricultural and livestock fair. The 51st edition, held in September 2026, included a Ragusano DOP consortium workshop, wheel marking and a best-wheel contest. In 2025 it moved to a new site on via Prof. Vincenzo Malfitano.
Torneo del Maiorchino, Carnival wheel-throwing at Novara di Sicilia
Carnival game in Novara di Sicilia: teams of throwers send a whole aged Maiorchino wheel, wound with a cord, rolling down the town's main street. Slow Food says Basicò keeps the custom too.
Maiorchino: questions
How big is a Maiorchino?
Slow Food gives a side height of 12 cm, a diameter of 35 cm and a weight of 10 to 18 kg, so the 14 kg recorded is the midpoint.
What is the Maiorchino race?
Slow Food says that at Carnival, in Basicò and Novara di Sicilia, shepherds race aged wheels by rolling them down the slope of the main street. The Novara di Sicilia town website calls it the Torneo del Maiorchino, a Carnival game in which teams of throwers send a wheel, wound with a cord, down the street.
When is it made?
Slow Food says from February to June, in very small quantities.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Sicily
Plan the trip
Visit Maiorchino country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
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Sources: www.fondazioneslowfood.com, it.wikipedia.org. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.