Cheese

While there is very little cheese produced in Liguria and almost none of it goes abroad, you should pay close attention to the cheeses you do buy for the recipes in this book. So-called Parmesan cheese, which is really Parmigiano-Reggiano, is clearly identifiable by the imprint of the cheesemakers’ consortium on the rind of each wheel of cheese. Accept no substitute from the U.S., from Argentina, or even from other regions of Italy. This cheese is made only in a delimited zone in Northern Italy, and nothing else can compare. For hard sheep’s milk cheese, look for Pecorino Romano or Pecorino Sardo. They have an imprint on the rind of a sheep’s head and droopy ears. As for the cheese to put in your focaccia col formaggio, if at all possible you want Crescenza, not the Stracchino for which it is usually mistaken outside of Liguria (see Fairway and Zabar’s, listed under Leading Food Purveyors). If you want to make your own prescinseua, Genoese cheese curds, you will need rennet, a source for which is indicated. Also see La Bottega di Angelamaria listed under Honey.