Young sheep's-milk pecorino studded with Calabrian chili, supple and mildly spicy.
Young Sardinian sheep's-milk pecorino from Locatelli, studded with Calabrian chili flakes. Semi-soft, tangy, mildly spicy, and a serious melter.
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Saracino is a young sheep's-milk pecorino from Locatelli, who makes cheese across Lazio and Sardinia, with the wheels formed in a traditional reed basket that leaves the canestrato impression on the rind. The paste is studded with little flakes of Calabrian chili pressed right through the cheese.
It's a semi-soft pecorino, aged about six weeks, so the texture is supple and fresh rather than dry and crystalline. The dairy reads mildly tangy and buttery, fresh-tasting the way a young sheep's-milk cheese should, and then the Calabrian chili builds slowly on the back of the palate. Mildly spicy by our measure, though your mileage may vary depending on where you're from. It does have some heat to it for sure.
It melts beautifully, which makes it a serious grilled cheese candidate, and shredded over a hot bowl of pasta alio e olio it does most of the seasoning for you.
Semi-soft and supple, a younger pecorino style that gives easily under the knife. Melts cleanly without breaking, which is why it works on a grilled cheese or shredded over pasta.
Mildly tangy and fresh-tasting through the paste, with the Calabrian chili flakes adding a real heat that builds on the back of the palate. Mildly spicy by our measure, though your mileage may vary.
The dairy fades fairly quickly, then the Calabrian chili lingers as a slow warm pull on the back of the palate.
Fresh sheep's-milk tang up front, buttery and a little yogurty, the way a young pecorino reads before age tightens the paste.
A little brown-butter warmth from the sheep's milk, but at six weeks the paste hasn't had time to build the toasted, hazelnut depth of an aged pecorino.
Clean and fresh more than earthy, with just a quiet vegetal note from the natural canestrato rind.
Calabrian chili flakes pressed through the paste give a real, present heat that builds slowly. Mildly spicy by Italian measure, with enough kick to register on the back of the palate.
Natural rind
Natural basket-woven canestrato rind, lightly vegetal, marked by the woven impression from the traditional reed basket the wheel is formed in.
Pecorino Saracino stands on its own, but the right partners turn a wedge into a moment. Regional pairings first — they were built for each other.
The chili heat wants a wine with fruit and a little bubble or freshness to cool it down, so a Lambrusco or a young southern Italian red works. A crisp pilsner does the same job from the beer side.
Sweet fruit and a drizzle of honey balance the chili heat, while a savory olive tapenade leans into the sheep's-milk tang. The honey-and-chili echo is the move here.
Video represents style and type of cheese - may not be an exact match in all cases.
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Domenico and his team are fantastic. I’m a chef and I often get my supplies from The Cheese Store — unique products, carefully selected, from top Italian and French cheeses to excellent local ones.
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“A Sardinian sheep's-milk house built on the canestrato tradition — raw-material first, basket-pressed, and aged to suit each style from grating-hard Romano to semi-soft peppered caciotta.”
Sheep's-milk wheels hand-pressed into woven reed baskets (canestrato) for the ridged rind, then aged from six weeks for the soft Saracino styles up to many months for the classic Pecorino Romano.
Carefully packaged and shipped from our Beverly Hills shop.
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