Manufacturing method and nutritional value of Pecorino Sardo. Benefits and harms, recipes for dishes with cheese. Interesting facts about the product.
Pecorino Sardo is an Italian cheese produced in Sardinia (the name is officially protected). It is made from pasteurized sheep milk. It is offered to consumers in 2 versions: young Dolce (creamy sweet, with soft firm flesh), and mature Maturo (with pronounced sourness and semi-grained texture). The color is white, yellowish, dirty yellow closer to the edges, the consistency is dense, the eyes are small, there are few of them. The crust is dense, brown, of various shades, red tint is allowed. It is produced in the form of a cylinder with rounded edges, weighing 3-3.5 kg and a diameter of 15-18 cm. In Italy, this variety is called the "Sardinian flower".
How is Pecorino Sardo cheese made?
The variety is made at home and in food factories. Its peculiarity is seasonality. Since the raw material is only sheep's milk, the production of Pecorino Sardo, like other cheeses of this group, takes place in winter and spring, from November to June.
Collect the milk yield of several sheep, carry out pasteurization - heated in a closed kettle for 40 minutes at a temperature of 39 ° C. Then thermophilic bacteria are introduced, curdled with rennet. Stir by hand, lifting the cheese mass from the bottom, and cover with cotton cloth for 40-50 minutes. In an industrial setting, a wooden blade resembling a narrow paddle is used as a stirrer.
In the manufacture of Pecorino Sardo cheese, kalya is not cut. The layer is broken with a whisk and flakes of arbitrary size are allowed to settle to the bottom, heating the boiler to a temperature 2 ° C less than pasteurization. The cheese mass is scooped up by hand and laid out in special perforated forms.
When pressing, force should be applied: fill to the top, press down, squeezing out the whey, press again. For a day, leave on a drainage mat under oppression, turn it over several times and periodically fill it with viscous acidified sheep's milk. It is not drained, but reassembled for subsequent processing of the head.
All this time, the cheese is at room, or rather, street temperature, where it slightly sours. Autumn, spring and winter are warm in Italy. Next, dry salting is carried out with the help of coarse sea salt. Aging takes place under special conditions - at a temperature of 8-12 ° C in humid caves. Depending on the desired exposure, it is left for 1 or 2 months.
The crust after 30 days of aging is thin, dense, smooth, light beige, without mold. After 60 days, its color becomes darker, interspersed with grayish fungal cultures is allowed.
Read about the peculiarities of making cheese Sainte-Maur-de-Touraine
Composition and calorie content of Pecorino Sardo cheese
The nutritional value of the variety depends on the degree of maturity. The longer you stay in the cellars, the higher it is, but not due to the fat content, but the transformation of carbohydrates.
The calorie content of Pecorino Sardo cheese is 387-414 kcal per 100 g, of which:
- Protein - 31 g;
- Fat - 26 -34 g;
- Carbohydrates - 3 g.
The vitamin composition is dominated by:
- Tocopherol - has an antioxidant effect;
- Retinol - improves the functions of the visual system;
- Nicotinic acid - eliminates vasospasm and stabilizes blood flow;
- Thiamine - stabilizes memory functions and increases resistance to viruses;
- Choline is essential for the transformation of fats in the liver;
- Folic acid - is responsible for the reproduction of blood cells.
Most of the minerals
- Calcium - strengthens the skeletal system;
- Potassium - normalizes heart rate;
- Phosphorus - responsible for the distribution of energy;
- Sodium - reduces fluid loss;
- Iron - necessary to maintain a stable level of hemoglobin;
- Copper - accelerates the oxidation of glucose.
Pecorino Sardo cheese contains polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, amino acids, cholesterol and sugars.
It is difficult to call this product a dietary one, however, due to its rich vitamin and mineral composition, it is introduced into the diets of people who need to control weight. The body receives enough nutrients necessary for normal life, and since the nutritional value is high, saturation occurs quickly, overeating can be avoided.
Useful properties of Pecorino Sardo cheese
The product has a healing effect. Traditional healers of Sardinia recommend eating young cheese for breakfast every day to slow down the development of intestinal cancer, in particular of the rectum. It is enough to eat a small piece to protect the mucous membrane from the aggressive effects of digestive juices and toxins accumulated in the lumen of the organ.
Benefits of Pecorino Sardo cheese:
- Increases the general immunity of the body.
- Decreases the production of histamine.
- It has antioxidant properties, stops the synthesis of atypical cells, prevents oncological processes localized in the digestive organs, mammary glands and epithelial tissues.
- Reduces the incidence of cardiovascular disease.
- Accelerates nerve-impulse conduction.
- Stops the development of caries.
- Retains moisture in the body, creates favorable conditions for the vital activity of the intestinal microflora.
- Increases blood clotting.
- Accelerates the formation of muscle fibers.
- Due to the high amount of calcium, phosphorus and potassium in the composition, with regular use of this product, the likelihood of developing osteoporosis decreases, and recovery from injuries of various kinds is accelerated.
The danger from eating Pecorino Sardo cheese made in private cheese factories is minimal. Despite the fact that most of the processes are carried out by hand, sheep milk is carefully pasteurized and tested for hygiene standards.
The variety is introduced into the daily menu after seasonal infectious diseases, surgical interventions, in the treatment of anemia and dystrophy. By stimulating the receptors of the mucous membranes of the mouth and stomach, appetite and the production of digestive enzymes and bile acids are increased. Digestion of food is accelerated, congestion does not occur in the intestine.
Eating a small piece of Pecorino Sardo after a meal can help get rid of bad breath.
Contraindications and harm Pecorino Sardo
The restriction to the introduction into the diet is intolerance to milk protein. Despite the fact that in sheep's milk, in comparison with cow's milk, it is much less, and a partial transformation occurs during production, allergic reactions may develop.
Harm from Pecorino Sardo cheese can occur with kidney disease, a tendency to high blood pressure and high acidity. Too much salt. Edema, headache, nausea and dizziness may appear, and blood pressure may increase.
Overeating with gout, obesity, hepatic dysfunction should be avoided. To minimize the negative impact on the body, preference should be given to heads with a maturation period of no more than a month.
If you buy a product from your hands (Sardo is mainly bought from small farmers), there is no guarantee that the production is carried out in compliance with all sanitary and hygienic standards. Sheep are often given hormones to increase milk yield. Regular consumption of such cheese leads to weight gain, increased appetite and disruption of the endocrine system.
If you plan to treat women during pregnancy, lactation, preschool children, you should purchase heads made at a food factory.
Pecorino Sardo Cheese Recipes
In Sardinia, this cheese is eaten, seasoned with basil, added to vegetable salads, and seasoned with honey. The taste goes well with cherry tomatoes, berries and fruits - melons, peaches, apples. It can be safely added to all hot dishes, which include Parmesan or Brynza. It is not suitable for cold salads, because it has a flavor that not everyone likes.
Note! To remove the smell of sour sheep's milk, it is enough to heat the product.
Recipes with Pecorino Sardo:
- Baked eggplant … Vegetables, 800 g, are peeled and cut into plates 1.5 cm thick and up to 2 cm wide. Then they are soaked in cool salted water for 10 minutes to get rid of the bitterness. Tomatoes, 500 g, cut into circles, knead 3 garlic prongs into porridge. Blot the eggplant plates with a paper towel, fry on 2 sides in vegetable oil in a hot frying pan. There is no need to wait for readiness, it is enough for a crispy crust to appear. Preheat the oven to 180 ° C. Vegetable plates are salted on one side and rubbed with garlic gruel. Spread them on an oiled baking sheet and put tomatoes on top and sprinkle with a layer of grated cheese. Bake, checking with a knife, readiness. Sprinkle with herbs before serving.
- Classic carbonara … Pecorino Sardo, 200 g, rubbed on a fine grater. Beat 2 chicken eggs with salt in a froth and add half of the cheese, and mix the other half with black pepper. Thin pieces of bacon are fried in a pan, and the spaghetti is boiled until half cooked and mixed with olive oil. Spread the pasta to the bacon, stir, pour over the egg mixture and sprinkle with cheese and pepper. Close with a lid and wait for the cheese to melt. For those who love firm spaghetti, there is a different recipe for making carbonara. The pasta is left in a frying pan for a few minutes to "grab" the egg, and the cheese is laid out on plates on hot pasta. Sprinkle with parsley or cilantro on top.
- French fries … This dish is not dietary, and if you have to keep track of your weight, you should refuse to cook and eat it. The oven is heated to 180 ° C. Potatoes, preferably young, are cut into thin slices and spread on a baking sheet greased with vegetable oil, so that when viewed from above it looks like fish scales - half covering one slice with the other. Cover with onion rings from above, but so that they do not find each other. Lubricate with a thin layer of sour cream or mayonnaise, you can additionally pepper. No salt is needed, as a thick layer of grated Pecorino Sardo is poured on top, better than mature. Bake until the potatoes are soft and the cheese crust is golden brown.
- Chebureks … Pecorino Sardo is an ideal filling for pasties. In order to knead the dough, beat the yolk in 150 ml of water, pour into 300 ml of sifted flour and add 80 ml of olive oil. Knead a soft elastic dough, if necessary, add flour. The batch is wrapped in plastic wrap and left to "rest". Can be put on a window or on a refrigerator shelf if it's hot. Grate cheese, roll out the dough into thin circles. Spread the filling in the middle, pinch the edges. Fry on both sides in sunflower oil until the dough is ready. There is no need to salt - the cheese is already salty enough.
See also recipes with Epuas cheese.
Interesting facts about Pecorino Sardo
According to legend, for the first time this variety was made by the mythological shepherd - the Cyclops Polyphemus. It was he who kept Odysseus during his long wanderings. This is reflected in the name of the fermented milk product: "pekora" in translation from Italian means "sheep", and from Latin - "livestock".
Usually Italian cheeses are called "formaggio", but for this it is more correct to choose the term "cacio". The word "formjo" appeared later, in the Middle Ages, when they began to make cheese heads of round shape.
The protected name "Pecorino Sardo" DOP was awarded in 1991, and in 1996 the product reached the European level and began to gain popularity in the surrounding European countries. For export, the subspecies Maturo (with a blue label) is more often supplied, more pronounced and salty, which is smoked during ripening.
Tourists visiting Sardinia will definitely be offered dishes flavored with Pecorino Sardo - beans and pasta. Locals value their cheese and eat it almost daily.
On the basis of Pecorino Sardo, the Kasu-Marzu variety is made, attaching the larvae of a cheese fly to the heads.
Watch a video about Pecorino Sardo cheese:
