a sharp, hard sheeps milk cheese traditionally from around Rome but now also made in Sardinia. Recognized by the European Union (DOP), the best are exported wrapped in a dark plastic material recalling the old age custom of massaging the cheeses with oil and grease or ashes as they aged.
Pecorino Romano is a hard, salty Italian cheese, suitable primarily for grating, made out of sheep's milk (the word pecora, from which the name derives, means in fact sheep). Although the adjective Romano refers to a belief that its recipe came from ancient Rome, it is now mainly produced on Sardinia, and especially in Gavoi.