Cheese Tasting
 Tuscany is known primarily by the numerous types of pecorino (pecorino
in Italian simply means “sheep’s milk cheese”) varying largely by their
age and the treatment of the rind. Tuscan pecorino can vary significantly
not only by area but also by town. Pienza is home to some of the most
well-known pecorino; however, Pecorino Toscano DOP can be made throughout
Tuscany and in some parts of Umbria. Most pecorino, including the Toscano
DOP, is now made with pasteurized milk, although there is a movement
among small-scale cheese makers (like the one you will visit) to return
to raw milk.
The farm you will visit has long produced artisanal pecorino and ricotta.
The family also runs an agriturismo across the street from the cheese
factory and sheep barn which is just outside of Panzano. The cheese
making facility is in a building adjacent to the sheep barn. It is rudimentary
but spotless with none of the trapping of touristy spot.
There are three work processing rooms as well as a storeroom. One room
has several large kettles for heating the milk, two stainless steel
work tables and a display rack on one wall with a few bottles of olive
oil and honey. There is a separate room for drying cheeses on wooden
racks and then an aging room, also with wooden racks and a stainless
steel table. They make a pecorino fresco that is perfect for breakfast
(particularly when drizzled with their honey), as well as a “pecorino
stagiannato” that is aged for at least ten months.
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