Pecorino Piacentinu Allo Zafferano

A more or less hard sheep's milk cheese according to the length of ripening. The rind has a lively golden yellow color and the flavor, very delicate and particular, is affected by the aroma of saffron and whole black peppercorns decorate the paste. Intense flavor with notes of sheep's milk, saffron and pepper.

Hot pear and quince chutney. Fresh beans and peas. Pasta without tomato sauces, French loaves.

Pecorino Piacentinu Allo Zafferano is the secret ingredient that gives many typical Sicilian first courses a unique and particular taste. This special pecorino is widely used, for example, to dress pasta with free-range chicken broth.

The significance of this cheese’s name is much debated. According to some, ‘Piacintinu’ means ‘cheese that pleases (piace)’, while others claim it means ‘cheese that weeps (piange)’ due to the fact that drops of serum are sometimes present in the fresh forms.

It could also mean a cheese ‘to be ripened’ like the northern Italian Grana cheeses, since ‘Piacentino’ was the traditional name given to Grana.

In fact, although the current trend is to eat it fresh, Piacintinu is well adapted to a lengthy ripening process.

Its most obvious characteristic is the abundant addition of wild saffron and peppercorns to the curd, giving it a unique color and flavor.

The sheep used for its production feed mainly on vetch, a leguminous plant, which confers its own distinctive flavor to the milk.

Legend has it that, around 1090, Roger the Norman asked the local cheesemakers to prepare a cheese that would fight the severe depression of his beloved wife Adelasia. In ancient times, saffron was considered an energizing and antidepressant spice. So it was added to the traditional pecorino, giving life to one of the finest cheeses of Sicilian dairy production. The name "Piacentinu" derives from the dialectal term "piacentì" which in Italian can be translated as what "you like".