Pecorino
Tuscany’s cheese of choice is pecorino, first made in central Italy more than 500 years ago by hillside shepherds. While flavors and styles vary, all pecorino is made with either sheep’s milk or a combination of cow and sheep’s milk. In springtime, pecorino fresco, soft and lightly flavored, is delicious with fresh fava beans; in fall, a slightly more stagianato, or aged variety is excellent served with sliced pears. Pecorino is especially tasty around Pienza, where different varieties are aged in ash, wrapped in grape leaves, rubbed with peppers or infused with truffles or arugula.