Fiore Sardo

Fiore Sardo is a straw-colored Pecorino cheese with a brown rind, made with sheep’s milk in Sardinia, Italy. The flavor is complex without completely overwhelming the palate, although it is quite strong. It’s spicy and bold, rich and nutty, smoky and salty, and has a long finish.

History of the Cheese

Dating back to the Bronze Age, Fiore Sardo is the oldest of the Pecorino cheeses in the world. The name Pecorino comes from the Italian word for sheep, pecora.

‘Fiore Sardo’, meaning ‘Flower of Sardinia’ in Italian, was originally made using the ancient tradition of coagulating the milk with cardoon thistle flowers. Shepherds then smoked the cheese over open fires in small mountain huts to preserve it for the dry season when sheep do not produce milk.

It was granted DOP certification in 1996. To meet DOP requirements, the cheese must be made with pure, raw sheep’s milk from the provinces of Cagliari, Nuoro, Oristano, or Sassari.

How It’s Made

Fiore Sardo is produced from the milk of the wild Sarda breed of sheep, which graze on the arid land of Sardinia, giving the cheese a distinctive flavor. Lamb rennet is added to coagulate the milk, imparting a characteristic piquancy at the finish. The curd is molded and turned before being dunked in a hot water bath — a technique that strengthens the rind. Next, the cheese is smoked over local wood, typically myrtle, and aged in cool cellars, where it’s periodically turned and rubbed with olive oil to protect and mature the rind. Fiore Sardo is aged for at least 105 days for table cheese and over six months for a grating cheese.

Fiore Sardo can be further processed into Casu Marzu by introducing live cheese fly maggots, which break down the fats, making the cheese soft and liquid. However, this cheese is now illegal to sell (and hard to find), as the larvae are still alive when consumed.

To Serve

Serve as a table cheese in the traditional Sardinian-style with olives, spicy salami, and rustic breads. It also pairs well with honey, figs, and sweet grapes. It can be used as a grating cheese over pastas, salads, and pesto. Pair with crisp white wines and fruit-forward reds.