Canestrato vs Pecorino Siciliano
Canestrato
Facts
- Texture
- Hard
- Type
- Pressed
- Rind
- Natural rind
- Country
- Italy
- Place
- Trentino, Apulia, Basilicata, Sicily, Sardinia
Canestrato is an Italian cheese named for the canestro, the basket that drains and shapes the curd. The basket leaves a woven pattern on the rind, and that mark is the shared sign across many local wheels. The regions tied to the name include Trentino, Apulia, Basilicata, Sicily, and Sardinia. Most pieces are pressed, aged, and firm, with a natural rind and a savory paste. A young wheel can be cut for the table, while an older one is kept for grating.
Pecorino Siciliano
Facts
- Milk
- Sheep
- Texture
- Hard
- Type
- Pressed
- Rind
- Natural rind
- Country
- Italy
- Place
- Sicily
- Status
- PDO
Pecorino Siciliano is a hard sheep's milk cheese from Sicily in Italy. The name joins the Italian word for sheep with the island where the cheese is made. Whole sheep's milk is set, pressed in baskets, salted, and kept until the paste is compact. The name is protected, so a wheel sold under it follows that Sicilian tradition. It is a grating and table cheese, not a fresh curd.