Pecorino Romano and Pecorino Toscano. How a Great Cheese Became a Niche Product; and How a Niche Cheese Has Developed Within the International Market

Notwithstanding it being one of the Italian dairy industry’s most well-known PDO cheeses, “genuine” Pecorino romano, ie cheese produced in the original production area of Lazio, risks disappearing despite being tenaciously defended by a small number of producers near Viterbo. Truth is that the greater part of Pecorino romano cheese PDO is currently produced above all in Sardinia, where its production was transferred from Lazio about a century ago. The sharing of one denomination for two cheeses produced in regions that are distant, not only geographically but also in terms of the environmental conditions that characterize them, has gradually led to the exclusion from the market of weaker and less competitive producers.Very different is the case of Tuscan sheep milk dairies which, after a period of crisis in the 50s following Agrarian reform, in the 60s and 70s began to gain importance thanks to the renovation of the techniques and systems of husbandry. Recognition of the PDO of Tuscan pecorino (1987) brought a cheese to the attention of international markets that - despite references to long standing Tuscan dairy traditions - is a newcomer that has little connection with the past.The common denominator that connects many aspects of the history of these two cheeses is their relationship with the territory, at times elusive as in the case of the Roman pecorino, and at others skillfully consolidated and enhanced as in the case of the Tuscan pecorino.