A Romano Everyone (truly) Loves

Saucyman – I went to the store and asked for Romano cheese and they gave me pecorino. They were kind of snotty & non-responsive when I asked if pecorino was the only kind of Romano cheese available. What can you tell me?- Cheesed

Like Parmesan, the term Romano refers to a specific cheese – like Parmigiano-Reggiano/Pecorino Romano. More generically, both Parmesan and Romano designate cheeses that are grated or served on top of spaghetti or for those who dine from the modern lexicon, pasta.

Both Parma and Rome are actual places you can pinpoint on a map or more likely for the tech savvy citizens who read Saucyman on the web; these are places you can locate using Google Earth. At its most basic level, you’d think a Romano cheese would be any cheese made outside of Rome or in the Lazio region. (Lazio is the ‘state’ which Rome resides in. Romano does have a nicer ring to it than Lazaian.)

Except there really aren’t any other Romano cheeses. And here is where the term starts to get watered down: Because of the cost of doing business near an urbanized city, a lot of Pecorino Romano is produced off the mainland and might more accurately be labeled Pecorino Sardo. Compounding the problem - Romani/Romanoes/Romanos produced in the States are made from cow’s milk. Also in the US, you’ll find the phenomena pre-grated, shelf-stable, unrefrigerated ‘cheese’ labeled Romano: If some Pecorino Romano have never been near Rome, the stuff that comes in the green cylinder has never even heard of the eternal city.

In your search for the right cheese, the bigger clue is the word ‘pecorino’ (pey-ko-REE-noh), it is a sheep’s milk cheese. Pecora means sheep, the diminutive becomes the cheese itself and for those who really wish to split wools; Pura Pecora is 100% sheep’s milk cheese. There are 4 DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata - legally protected terrior/ regions) for Pecorino – Toscano, Sardo, Siciliano and Romano. True Romano cheese is stamped romano genuino on the rind. Since most people and many grocery stores don’t buy a full 40lb wheel of Romano, well, its hard to look locate the official stamp of approval.

Despite the fact there are 4 sanctioned agricultural designations, most pecorinos are similar; they are hard grating cheeses made from sheep’s milk. There are of course, variations and textures that are unique to the areas that produce the pecorinos - Siciliano designated cheeses include the pepato, a pecorino studded with black peppercorns. Toscano is thought to be more olivey than salty and as mentioned Sardo and Romano are interchangeable, to the point that Sardo passes as Romano.

Next time you are in the store try asking for a pecorino rather than the generic Romano. this will give the cheese worker a chance to show you different styles of sheep’s milk cheese. Maybe with the opportunity to talk about what they know rather than having to defend what they don’t know, you'll exerience better service.