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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, Lazio, province of Rome

Pecorino di RoiateRoiatese

Whole ewe milk, mostly raw, is kept cold overnight, warmed to 36 °C and set in about 30 minutes with lamb paste rennet, or kid rennet for a sharper cheese. The curd is broken once to hazelnut size, semi-cooked at 42–43 °C, pressed by hand into baskets and salted dry or in brine. The wheels ripen from 15 days to a year in cold rooms or in the old caves and cellars of the village, and are rubbed with olive oil after about a month. Made in 7 steps over 15 days – 12 months. The longest step, ripen in cold rooms or village caves, takes 15 days – 12 months (ONAF technical sheet 'Pecorino di Roiate (Roi…) and runs at 10–12 °C (ONAF technical sheet 'Pecorino di Roiate (Roi…). Lactic acid bacteria from the raw milk and the paste rennet does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step15 days – 12 monthsReported[onaf-sheet]Ripen in cold rooms or village caves
Temperature10–12 °CReported[onaf-sheet]Ripen in cold rooms or village caves
Fully documentedCheese15 days – 12 monthsPAT (traditional agri-food product of Lazio, added February 2026)Family: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)More hard sheep and goat cheesesMore from Italy

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo fixed amounts are recorded. Wheels weigh about 1–8 kg.
Whole ewe milk · Mostly raw, sometimes pasteurised; from evening and morning milkings[onaf-sheet]
Lamb paste rennet, or kid paste rennet · Diluted in water; kid rennet gives a sharper cheese[onaf-sheet]
Salt · Half fine and half coarse for dry salting, or a brine[onaf-sheet]
Olive oil · Rubbed on the rind after about 30 days of ripening[onaf-sheet]
Starter: none added

Total time across the recorded steps: 15 days – 12 months

Start
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0–4 °C

What changes: Starting material: whole ewe milk from two milkings, kept cold overnight

Step 1 of 7
Keep the milk cold overnight
Time
Not documented
Temperature
0–4 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: whole ewe milk, raw or pasteurised.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

It is made from the milk of flocks that still move between pastures each autumn and spring, and is ripened up to a year in the caves and cellars of Roiate's old village, with the rind oiled after a month.

Milk
Whole ewe milk from Massese, Siciliana, Sarda, Sopravissana and, for over 20 years, Lacaune ewes on free pasture at 750–1000 m
Size
1.0–8.0 kg; basket-marked cylinder with flat faces

Related ferments

Variants

  • Primo sale / stagionatura breveShort ripening; soft, ivory paste; mild.
  • Stagionatura medio-lungaMedium to long ripening; harder, slightly crumbly, faintly bitter and sharp.

Safety

Mostly made from raw milk, held at 0–4 °C before making; young cheeses are sold after 15 days.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Records in the Roiate town archive list livestock from the late 19th century and counts of animals taxed in 1943–1950. Cheesemaking skills passed down within families, and the cheese joined Lazio's list of traditional products in February 2026, one of 28 new entries.

  1. [onaf-sheet] ONAF technical sheet 'Pecorino di Roiate (Roiatese)' (content credited to ARSIAL and others)web
  2. [arsial-2026] ARSIAL 2026, Comunicato stampa 'Prodotti tradizionali, il Lazio sale a 520 PAT' (11 February 2026), list of new cheesesgov