Casera Consortile del Pecorino di Farindola
The producers' consortium shop, opened 2001 in a basement of the renovated town hall. It sells Pecorino di Farindola from the member farms and also selects and ages the cheeses it sells.
About Pecorino abruzzese
The general pecorino of the Abruzzo mountains, made from raw whole sheep's milk with animal rennet and salt, and listed as an Abruzzo traditional food product. It is a hard or semi-hard, dry paste with slight eyes. Methods vary slightly by place: salting is in brine or dry, and the wheels are generally rubbed with olive oil. The Gran Sasso park says wheels run from just over a kilo to 5 or 10 kg, while Italian Wikipedia gives 1 to 3 kg.
Made in: Whole region, mainly the transhumance country now covered by the three national parks and the Sirente Velino regional park
On the plate
Aroma moves from delicate to more intense and piquant as it ages, per the Gran Sasso park. The park adds that pecorini of this area are generally less salty than those of other parts of central and southern Italy.
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Pecorino abruzzese
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Abruzzo
Our pickThis mountain pecorino moves from delicate to piquant with age and is generally less salty than pecorini elsewhere in central Italy. A dry Montepulciano d'Abruzzo meets it with fruit and tannin, and the sheep's-milk fat softens the wine's grip.
Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo Superiore Abruzzo
Our pickA young or medium-aged mountain pecorino is delicate at first and grows more piquant. A Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo Superiore, a dry Montepulciano rosé with red fruit, cuts the sheep's-milk fat, and with no tannin there is nothing to clash with the salt.
The grapes behind these winesMontepulciano
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
Cheese experiences nearby
Park itinerary no. 2: Su e giù per la Baronia
A 69 km driving loop from Barisciano, published by the Gran Sasso park, through Santo Stefano di Sessanio, Castel del Monte and Calascio. The park suggests buying Canestrato at a farm shop in Castel del Monte and stopping at the Campo Imperatore cooperative's dairy on the way back.
Pecorino abruzzese: questions
How is it different from Pecorino di Farindola or Canestrato di Castel del Monte?
It is the general regional type. Pecorino di Farindola (pig rennet) and Canestrato di Castel del Monte are separate, more tightly defined cheeses, both Slow Food presidia.
Where does it come from historically?
The Gran Sasso park calls pecorino the typical product of transhumance between Puglia and Abruzzo, and with ricotta the staple food of shepherds for decades.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Abruzzo
Plan the trip
Visit Pecorino abruzzese country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
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Sources: www.gransassolagapark.it, it.wikipedia.org. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.