Cheese and cured meat production map
Pecorino cheeses - Ewes’ milk cheese
Sheep and goats graze on pastures rich in typical Mediterranean vegetation which includes many aromatic plants. The milk used to make Sardinian cheeses has therefore a unique taste and fragrance. Sardinia is the only region is Europe to have 3 PDO pecorino cheeses, Fiore Sardo , Pecorino Sardo and Pecorino Romano.
PDO Pecorino is of two kinds, sweet and mature. Sweet pecorino, which is not aged for very long, is a white or straw-yellow cheese with a delicate, aromatic or slightly bitter taste. Mature pecorino is aged for longer and has a fuller taste which is very slightly spicy. It is suitable for grating on foods as well as being eaten on its own with a glass of good red wine.
Pecorino di Osilo is a special variety of pecorino cheese. It has a slightly buttery texture which dissolves in the mouth, tasting vaguely of toasted hazelnuts, with an intense and persistent smell. It is best appreciated with dry, elegant wines such as Cagnulari or Rosso dei Colli di Limbara
PDO Fiore Sardo is made with unpasteurised ewes’ milk. Its compact texture has a rich, soft taste and smells of herbs and dry fruits. Longer seasoning increases the taste adding a spicy note to it. The freshly-made cheese is used in culurgiones and sebadas. After two months it is excellent chargrilled whereas the mature cheese is suitable for grating over other foods.
96% of PDO Pecorino Romano is made in Sardinia even if very little of it is actually eaten there probably because it is not a traditional Sardinian food. It has a hard texture with a strong, pleasantly spicy taste and a unique smell.
Goat Milk Cheeses
Young goat milk cheeses are excellent eaten on their own or chargrilled. The best wines to match them with are dry white wines with an intense fragrance or passito wines.
The cheeses are made in the regions of Ogliastra, Sarrabus, Gerrei, Sulcis, Baronia and Gallura.
Casizzolu cheese
This cow milk cheese is made in the municipalities on the border between the provinces of Oristano and Nuoro, such as Cuglieri, Seneghe, Santulussurgiu etc. This straw-yellow cheese with an elastic texture smells of herbs and forests. It has a delicate, persistent and slightly spicy taste.
the list of “protected foods” i.e. quality products that need to be protected and valorised.
Dolce Sardo cheese
This cheese, made in the areas of Arborea, Oristano and Santa Maria La Palma, is ideal for people who like light tastes.
Il Fresa cheese
This great cow milk cheese is produced mainly in the areas of Marghine, Planargia, Montiferru and Meilogu. The texture of this intensely straw-yellow cheese is tender and buttery with a pleasant delicate taste that is slightly bitter. It can also be made from goats’ and ewes’ milk.