Pecorino Moliterno

Pecorino Moliterno is one of the great forgotten cheeses of southern Italy: produced in Basilicata from sheep's milk and sometimes goat's milk, aged in the natural caves of the Moliterno area at over 800 metres altitude, it develops over the months an aromatic profile of rare complexity. Moliterno is a small municipality in the Lucanian Apennines, known since at least the 17th century as a centre for ageing and trading cheeses from the transhumant pastures of Basilicata, Campania and Calabria. The natural caves carved into tuff rock, with a constant temperature of 8-12 degrees C and relative humidity of 75-85%, created ideal conditions for the development of an autochthonous bacterial and fungal flora that cannot be reproduced elsewhere. The PGI was recognised by EU Reg. No. 148/2007. The cave-aged version develops in 8-12 months a rough, dark rind treated with olive oil, and a paste that shifts from white to intense straw-yellow. The organoleptic profile is complex: animal notes from sheep and goat milk, herbaceous aromas of the Apennines, fungal notes from the caves, long and slightly pungent finish.

• Temperature: 8-12 degrees C, ideally in a cool cellar; in the fridge in the vegetable drawer
• Wrap in cheese paper or slightly damp cloth to preserve the rind's moisture
• Do not seal in cling film: the paste must breathe
• Use within 4-6 weeks of opening for semi-aged versions; longer for hard versions

In the kitchen: Excellent shaved on a board with chestnut honey, fresh broad beans and Lucanian cured meats. Grated over pasta with lamb ragu, lagane e ceci, orecchiette with turnip tops. Raw paired with structured Lucanian reds: Aglianico del Vulture DOCG, Primitivo di Manduria. The truffle version works as a pure meditation cheese at room temperature with acacia honey.

Pecorino di Moliterno is protected as PGI by EU Reg. No. 148/2007: the designation guarantees that ageing takes place obligatorily in the territory of the municipality of Moliterno and neighbouring municipalities of Basilicata, where the microclimatic conditions of the caves cannot be reproduced elsewhere. Milk may come from sheep and goats raised in Basilicata, Campania and Calabria. The protection consortium verifies the supply chain and ageing. As the consortium's official website does not have a stable public page, the EU Commission's PGI register is the recommended source for official verification.

Product information

• Allergens: sheep's milk; possible goat's milk - check label
• Lactose: minimal residue in versions aged over 6 months
• Gluten: absent
• Pregnancy: check for raw milk; prefer versions from thermised milk
• Vegan/vegetarian: not suitable (animal rennet)