- 1 day ago
Pecorino Romano is one of the oldest cheeses in the world, with roots going back to Ancient Rome. But today, most of it is no longer made near Rome at all. In this episode, we visit I Buonatala, one of the very last producers still making Pecorino Romano in Lazio, the cheese’s original territory, to understand how global demand, especially from the United States, reshaped where and how this cheese is made. We explore the differences between Pecorino Romano made in Rome and the versions produced elsewhere, and how exports helped keep this historic producer alive.
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:02Pecorino romano dates back more than a thousand years to the kitchens of ancient Rome, but today
00:09this ancient cheese is a modern global business worth over 600 million euros with nearly a third
00:16of it shipped to the United States. And yet despite the name the majority of pecorino romano is no
00:29longer made near Rome, to meet international demand production largely shifted 280 miles away to the
00:36island of Sardinia. Today we're in Neppi at 30 kilometers from Rome to visit one of the very few
00:43producers that is still making pecorino romano in Lazio the original territory of this cheese. I'm
00:50here to see how a Buona Tavola makes its cheese and I'm lucky enough to have Giuseppe Capuani the
00:56director of this historic dairy showing me around.
01:14The process for making pecorino romano starts with a milk delivery. After it arrives at the dairy, it is cleaned
01:22using a
01:22process called thermization, then transferred into these large vats to be turned into cheese.
01:28Quanti litri ci sono qui di latte? Questa è 10.000. Poi ne abbiamo 35.000. Noi quindi a giro
01:38riusciamo a fare 250
01:40quintali di latte.
01:42Ok.
01:43Like most sheep's milk cheeses, pecorino romano is seasonal, produced from October to July,
01:50with higher volumes between January and May.
01:52Here we have picchi che arriviamo a 1.000 quintali al giorno, e dei momentieri facciamo 200-300 quintali al
01:59giorno.
02:00Renate is added, and after a short wait the milk begins to curdo. The curd is then cut until the
02:07pieces are about the size of a grain of rice.
02:10Curd and whey are transferred into another large vat. There is so much milk that it takes about 20 minutes.
02:18The curd is then pressed for another 30 minutes to release excess whey, before being cut into large blocks and
02:25placed into moulds.
02:28This is the plant.
02:31This is the plant.
02:32This is the plant.
02:35It's soft.
02:36Yes, it's soft.
02:37Yes, it's soft.
02:38It's soft.
02:39Yes, it's soft.
02:40Yes, because the curation tends to grow.
02:43It tends to grow.
02:43It tends to grow.
02:44Oh wow.
02:46After being put into a grain of rice,
03:00It's soft.
03:01So fresh curds.
03:06Doesn't taste like much though.
03:08Because it hasn't been salted yet.
03:11But it's nice and springy.
03:12You want to try?
03:14No.
03:15No.
03:15See that's proof.
03:16They say you should always share with the cameraman.
03:19But I can take it.
03:20I can have it myself.
03:22It's fine.
03:26Although I wasn't impressed by this particular piece of curd,
03:29I suggest you stick around until the end when we taste the cheese,
03:33because I can guarantee I changed my mind.
03:36And in fact, it's not just me.
03:39Since the mid 20th century, when Italian cuisine began spreading abroad,
03:44this cheese has been a hit in the United States.
03:47In the most recent production cycle alone,
03:50about 8,000 metric tons of pecorino romano were shipped to the US.
03:58Pecorino romano was so successful that producers in Lazio and surrounding regions
04:03could no longer keep up with demand.
04:05With the exports to the United States,
04:09we began to have a lack of product,
04:12just because one part was destined to the United States.
04:15So there was no reason for this.
04:18The Italy region,
04:19which had the highest number of pecorino,
04:21the fastest pecorino,
04:22the fastest pecorino,
04:22was the Sardegna.
04:24However, traditionally,
04:26did not use the pecorino romano.
04:29It's true that today
04:29the Italy region uses less pecorino to consume.
04:34What happened then,
04:36was that some Roman entrepreneurs
04:39started to produce in Sardegna.
04:42While the production process is the same,
04:45Giuseppe says the real differences begin with the milk.
04:48Here, there are some differences from the production of the steppe,
04:54but from the point of view of the flavors,
04:57how do you know the pecorino romano?
05:00There is one thing to say,
05:03but the two beans are completely different.
05:07Because if it is true,
05:09that the milk and the animal
05:12feel the environment,
05:14the Passover,
05:15the food,
05:16the result.
05:20Today,
05:21pecorino romano is protected by a PDO,
05:24or protected designation of origin.
05:26That means it can only be made under strict rules
05:29and in specific areas.
05:31The PDO helped pecorino romano grow internationally,
05:35making it easier for consumers to distinguish it from imitations.
05:39But that growth didn't benefit every producer equally.
05:42So, with the discourse of the lower cost,
05:46the market easily conquered.
05:49And there,
05:51many Lazial companies have created in crisis.
05:53It is true that we were more than 20 producers,
05:57and we have remained in the idea
05:58that they still produce historically.
06:01Much of the pecorino romano made there today
06:04is produced at a much larger scale.
06:07In Lazio,
06:08production has retained an artisanal touch
06:10which Giuseppe cares deeply about.
06:13On the forms,
06:14there can be an adjective mark
06:16that identifies the region.
06:19It is true that we,
06:20on our formage,
06:21we write pecorino romano del Lazio.
06:24The Sardes could write pecorino romano
06:28from Sardegna,
06:29but surely they won't write it.
06:32This is the pecorino romano
06:35that goes all around the fascia.
06:38This is the year and the month of production.
06:46The above is the case.
06:49The case.
06:51The sign of the province
06:52is a number.
06:55In Lazio,
06:57we have from 2 to 99.
07:00So,
07:01what is a number
07:03or two numbers
07:03is Lazio.
07:05The Sardes have from 101 and then.
07:08And how many numbers?
07:10From 2 to 99.
07:12Because otherwise,
07:13there would be the first one.
07:14It would be fine.
07:15Oh!
07:16So,
07:17we, as a casella,
07:18have a VT8
07:20that remains in the form.
07:22At this stage,
07:24the wheels weigh about 35 kg.
07:26And,
07:27as they continue to drain,
07:28they drop to around 30 kg.
07:31Because parts of the process
07:33are still done by hand,
07:34slight variations in size are normal.
07:36Normally,
07:37we put the market face
07:39when the cheese is cold.
07:42Why?
07:43Because,
07:44it's cold,
07:45it's turned and turned
07:46just to make the face,
07:48to make the face loose.
07:52From here,
07:52we go to the kitchen.
07:54This is the only company
07:56of cheese,
07:58and especially,
07:58the pecorino romano,
08:00that still uses the underground
08:01to season the cheese.
08:03The day after,
08:05the cheese is salted.
08:06This place
08:09is dedicated
08:11to cheese in salagione.
08:14So,
08:14the cheese is from the first day
08:17to three months.
08:19The salagione
08:20usually lasts about three months.
08:23In the sense,
08:24we give the first hand of salt
08:26and put it on one side.
08:29The first hand of salt
08:30lasts about 10, 12, 15 days.
08:32Then,
08:33it's cleaned,
08:34and it's cleaned,
08:35and this process
08:36lasts for three months.
08:39This step
08:40used to be done
08:40entirely by hand,
08:42but today
08:42it's often done
08:43by machine
08:44to make the work easier.
08:46Some wheels,
08:46however,
08:47are still too large
08:48for the machine.
08:49Obviously,
08:50the salagione
08:51is made with a type
08:52of salt
08:52that has,
08:53we say,
08:54a medium,
08:55in the sense,
08:56it's not a thin salt
08:59nor a big salt.
09:00It's a medium.
09:01Why is this?
09:02Because if we put salt
09:04in the same way,
09:04it's going to melt
09:05immediately.
09:05So,
09:06for four days,
09:07it would stay
09:08without salt.
09:08So,
09:09it tends to absorb more.
09:12The wheels we're seeing today
09:13are going through
09:14their second salting.
09:15It depends
09:16on how to behave.
09:17Because we know
09:18that maybe
09:19in certain moments
09:21the form of the form
09:22will lose completely
09:24the salt
09:25and then we start to move.
09:26So, at that point,
09:27you have to leave
09:27and intervene.
09:29Yes, yes.
09:29You can see
09:30because some of the
09:30tomatoes have this.
09:31They have this.
09:33Yes,
09:33I can tell you
09:35that it's not the first one.
09:37For three months
09:38of salagione,
09:39we have to keep
09:40the shape.
09:42Why the shape?
09:43Because
09:43otherwise,
09:44the weight of the form
09:45will not be
09:46well.
09:47The weight of the form
09:48The weight of the form
09:52will not be
09:53The weight of the form
09:55will not be
09:56and the weight of the form
09:56will remain clean.
10:02After three months
10:03the pecorino romano
10:04has completed
10:05the most critical part
10:06of its aging
10:07and the priority
10:08becomes protecting it
10:10from drying out
10:11and preventing mold.
10:13Traditionally,
10:14this was done
10:15using olive oil sediment
10:16mixed with vinegar
10:17or ash.
10:19Today,
10:20it's done
10:20with a food-grade
10:21plastic coating.
10:22We do it
10:23before we put
10:24the milk in the market
10:25as a second
10:26of the needs
10:26of the client
10:27and as a second
10:28of the market
10:29in which we are going
10:30to sell.
10:31In the past,
10:32when it came out
10:33the tramontane
10:34which is then
10:34from the north
10:35that tends to dry,
10:37it happened to be
10:39protected
10:40in the surface
10:41with some grass
10:42to avoid
10:43the humidity
10:45in the surface
10:45and that the
10:47corticcia
10:47would be
10:48to break
10:48so
10:51in the tradition
10:53laziale
10:54roman
10:55of the
10:57oil
10:57mixed with
10:59acid
10:59which was
10:59natural
11:00then
11:02when it was not
11:03the oil
11:03as if
11:04only
11:05oil
11:06tends to
11:07penetrate
11:08into the
11:08oil
11:10added
11:11with
11:12the
11:12oil
11:14added
11:15to
11:23the
11:24oil
11:25we can still see
11:26this older method
11:27in some of the other
11:28cheeses the company
11:29makes
11:29which still use
11:31olive oil sediment
11:32and vinegar
11:34when pecorino romano
11:35is coated in black
11:36wax
11:37the top and bottom
11:38of the wheel
11:39are often left uncoated
11:41for appearance
11:41in the past
11:43when olive oil sediment
11:44and vinegar
11:44were used instead
11:46coating those surfaces
11:47could trap moisture
11:49and air
11:49causing the cheese
11:50to develop mold
11:52because
11:52this material is
11:53very dense
11:54but when it comes to
11:55hot
11:56you can see
11:56all the characteristics
11:57of the cheese
11:59in practice
12:00it is often
12:00but when you lose water
12:02it becomes
12:02very
12:03in fact
12:04in the past
12:05and
12:06this
12:06this
12:06this
12:06so bianco so bianco I would have never had because with the discourse of the oil and
12:13aceto it became marroncino or even nero. So there is in the collective image this
12:25figure of the pecorino romano nero. It's true, so it's true that on the market, especially
12:35the pecorino, if the pecorino doesn't have the black brush, the consumer doesn't buy it because
12:41identifies that black as the quality of the beef, while the black was only a dress.
12:46It's really satisfying. I feel like after all these years filming cheese I really earned this.
13:09I was trying to be respectful and, you know, be dangerous. I'm not sure it's working.
13:17I was trying to be respectful and, you know, be dangerous because I'm not sure it's working.
13:24While the cheeses are coated in black wax, this step is now often replaced by vacuum sealing,
13:29which protects the cheese and prepares it for longer aging.
13:35Vedi, 28 ottobre. Poi c'è uno, perché noi in base alle polivalenti che facciamo là identifichiamo
13:46pure la prima polivalente, la seconda, la terza, in modo che così abbiamo una tracciabilità
13:51perfetta. Per regolamento basterebbe quella mensile. Per noi abbiamo quella giornaliera e quella
14:00che cambia il tipo di latte, cambiano le condizioni. Quindi, se domani ci fosse un difetto,
14:05possiamo capire il perché.
14:07In this cold, dry environment, pecorino romano ages for a minimum of 12 to 15 months. Giuseppe
14:14has even aged for up to 36 months, which produces a sharper, more pungent cheese.
14:20Questo è il formaggio che risale a gennaio dello scorso anno. Quindi questo è il formaggio
14:27che ci sono 12 mesi. Quindi quanti formaggi ci sono più o meno,
14:32saggionali? No.
14:33Dentro il caso di fece, in questo momento ci saranno 20.000 quintali di formaggio, che
14:37tradotto in form, sono 60.000, forse qualcosa di più.
14:43About 80% of their cheese is bound for the United States, a relationship that is deeply rooted
14:50in Ibuona Tavola's history.
14:52Se noi parliamo di pecorino romano, il mercato statunitense è quello più importante.
14:56Si cerca di trovare nuovi mercati, ma sicuramente il formaggio segue un'abitudine alimentare.
15:04Quindi sembra che negli Stati Uniti, proprio in virtù del fatto che forse sono arrivati gli
15:07italiani, forse è arrivata la cucina italiana, è il mercato che assorbe più pecorino romano
15:12al mondo. Dall'altra parte per la nostra azienda è importante perché noi siamo stati fra i primi
15:19esportatori degli Stati Uniti. Tant'è vero che l'azienda Fulvice ha l'ancora che dovrebbe essere
15:25del pesce, del tonno, del baccalà, mentre invece no, del formaggio proprio in virtù del fatto
15:30che esportava con le navi verso gli Stati Uniti. Quindi questo marchio non deriva dal formaggio
15:36ma deriva dalle navi. Quindi erano i pecorini che viaggiavano?
15:39Che viaggiavano verso gli Stati Uniti. Questo ha permesso anche a questa azienda di sopravvivere
15:45nel senso che il nostro prodotto veniva apprezzato, quindi veniva pagato dal consumatore un po' più
15:52di quanto veniva pagato in Italia e questo ci permetteva di finanziare le perdite italiane
15:57con il mercato statunitense.
15:58Questo non è solo vero per questa compagnia. Per l'industria pecorino romano, l'Unione
16:04Stati Uniti è un grande mercato, con esporti worth circa 170 milioni di euro.
16:10E perché così molto di il cheese è soldato, le consumenze
16:14all'inizio experience le differenze between sardiniano e l'azienda pecorino romano
16:19first hand.
16:20Se guardate qui, l'acqua è brown, invece di black.
16:24È una referenza di color di olive oil sediment, invece di ash.
16:28E' anche un modo per la compagnia visibilità di distinguere il cheese.
16:32Giuseppe's company sells mostly to boutique cheese shops,
16:35where Pecorino Romano can retail for around 29 dollars per pound.
16:40It's a more selective niche product, aimed at consumers looking for something specific
16:45and harder to imitate.
16:47Può dire che un terzo di questi cormaggi destinato al mercato statunitense, sì.
16:53That positioning has also helped the company weather more on certain export conditions,
16:58including the tariffs the United States considered imposing on European food products in early
17:042025.
17:05Io sono stato preoccupato dei tassi e non lo sono adesso, perché ragiono in un certo modo
17:11e dico, se è vero che l'Italia esporta qualità e esporta prodotti particolari, vanno a una categoria
17:19di persone che si può permettere il lusso di spendere.
17:23Quello che può spendere non guarda i 20 centesimi più o meno.
17:28Quindi voi non siete preoccupati?
17:29Noi andiamo sul mercato più venente e quindi di livello, certo.
17:34Non è un prodotto a massa, perché il prodotto a massa può essere sostituito.
17:39Questo no, chi compra furbi compra furbi.
17:41Ma poi le dico un'altra cosa, su un piatto di pasta ci vanno 30 grammi di formaggi.
17:4730 grammi non fanno la differenza.
17:51Despite recent trade tensions, Pecorino Romano exports to the US have so far remained unaffected.
17:57La cucina romana è una cucina oltretutto che è sostanziosa, gradevole e costa poco.
18:04Se lei mi parla di un cacio e pepe, su un cacio e pepe ci vanno 20 grammi di pecorino
18:08su due etti di pasta.
18:09Quanto costa un piatto di cacio e pepe in euro?
18:12O se voglio lì una famiglia di 5 persone con 5 euro mangia e vive.
18:17La cucina romana è una cucina povera ma gradevole.
18:21E io ho cominciato a mangiare il parmigiano quando avevo 20 anni.
18:24O se a casa si mangia il pecorino.
18:27Quindi vi diceva che da quando avevo 20 anni che aprirò il quadro di Torino?
18:32O sono 20 anni?
18:34Da quando ce ne avevo 20, adesso ce ne sono 22, quelli sono un paio d'anni.
18:37Che va forzato piano piano perché se si forza tutto si può rischiare che si forma la pancia su questo
18:44e il vuoto sull'altro e viceversa.
18:46Come se ho invecchiato io.
18:51Oppure c'è qualcosa che non va.
18:54Managgia a te dai.
18:57E' possibile?
18:57Questa non si vuole spaccare.
19:10L'autore sente che non è salato.
19:12E' molto dolce.
19:15E' molto dolce.
19:15E' dolcissimo, delicato, cremato.
19:19E' molto dolce.
19:27This is the 12th of January, so today is the 13th of January, date of closing.
19:3712th of January.
19:39Wow, so it's been a year for this day.
19:4330th, look.
19:49If you look at it, you say cheese, you'll see how it shines.
19:55Yes.
19:56According to the tradition, you need to have the fever.
19:59Yes.
20:00The fever is when it reaches the right degree of season,
20:06at a very low temperature.
20:08So when the corn is done with these things,
20:12it's seasonable at the right point,
20:15and it's seasonable in the right direction.
20:18That's right, right?
20:19That's right, right?
20:19That's right in the case of other products.
20:22Those are also my fever.
20:23Those are my fever.
20:24The fever.
20:25I can't bring this fever.
20:27No.
20:28That's right.
20:29This is the cheese that I put on the table,
20:30and I'll eat it.
20:31Really.
20:35Yeah, well, I can see very well the shine from here,
20:40now that I'm at close contact with this pecorino.
20:43Especially close to what I'm at, I guess.
20:48Thank you so much for watching.
20:50If you have pecorino in your fridge or your pantry,
20:53I encourage you to go and take a look and let us know where it's made.
20:58Do you know if it's made in Sardinia or in Rome?
21:01Do you know how to come and can you tell the difference?
Comments