Pecorino Cheese Recipe
Homemade pecorino cheese tops any block you can buy at the store. It's rich, creamy, and you
can control how strong the flavor of the cheese is by how long you age it. It only takes a few
ingredients to make, and the cheese does the rest of the work in the fridge!
Servings 14
Equipment
- Thermometer
- Metal strainer
- Straining containers
- Extra-large pot
- knife
- Whisk
- Metal spoon
- Small cup
- Wooden Bowl
- Large container or high-walled baking tray
- Humidity gauge
- Vacuum seal bags to store cheese
Ingredients
- Sheep Milk
- Whey
- Organic powdered rennet preferably calf rennet
- Coarse salt
Instructions
Making Pecorino Cheese
- Pour the sheep milk through a metal strainer and into your cooking pot to avoid getting the heavy cream into the pot. Add whey to the milk and stir.
- Over medium heat, warm up the milk to 40°C (104° F), making sure to stir the mixture periodically. Once it hits the right temperature, remove the pot from the heat.
- In a small cup, pour the powdered rennet into water. Stir until completely dissolved. Add it to the milk by evenly distributing the rennet mixture around the pot. Stir the pot to make sure everything is well combined. Cover the pot and let it rest for 20 minutes.
- Uncover the pot and touch the curd a few times with your finger. If it comes out clean, you are ready to move on to the next step.
- Using a knife, cut the curd in the pot into small squares to separate the solid from the liquid whey. Cover and wait another 15 minutes.
- Using a whisk, break the curd into small, uniform pieces. Start by slowly stirring until the squares are broken into tiny pieces, and then start whisking faster. Cover and let the curd rest for another 10-15 minutes.
- Reach your hand into the bottom of the pot and slowly start delicately moving the curd into one solid mass, squeezing the curd as you collect it together.
- Remove one large piece of the curd out of the pot at a time. Place them into straining containers that have been placed inside a large container that can collect the excess liquid you strain out.
- Using a fist, start pressing down on the curd to force out the whey liquid. Make sure to press hard to force out the whey from the curd. Flip the cheese over and continue pressing.
- Once pressed, give the cheese a quick bath back inside the pot by submerging it into the water and taking it back out. Repeat the pressing process.
- Store in the fridge for 24 hours.
Seasoning the Cheese
- After 24 hours, lightly salt the cheese on all sides using coarse salt.
- Now it's time to store the cheese long-term in the fridge to season fully. The ideal storage temperature is 10°C (50°F) with a humidity between 67-80%.
- Store the cheese uncovered in a wooden bowl. Season the cheese in the fridge for 3 to 4 months minimum.
- After the seasoning is complete, the cheese is ready! You can store it in a vacuum-sealed bag to halt seasoning and store it long-term in the fridge.