Opposite: Exotic Stores

For the more adventurous fusion freak

The pecorino you see in delicatessens outside Italy is most often pecorino Romano, a hard cooking cheese and very different from the delicate, fresh cheese the Italians enjoy locally. Shaped in wheels or giant cylinders, it weighs between 7 kg / 16 lb and 18 kg / 40 lb. When sold as pecorino Romano, it can only legally have been made in the Lazio area outside Rome. It is salted and has a much stronger flavour than fresh pecorino. It may be white or pale yellow, and is first eaten at about four months old, but is more often matured to eight months, when it is used for cooking and grating like parmesan or grana padano.