Curio Bay is located near the southern tip of the south island of New Zealand. It is best known for the 180 million year old petrified forest located there and also a colony of yellow-eyed penguins, the rarest of penguin species… I’d like to add that the yellow-eyed penguin is also the tastiest, which might explain the rarity… but The Lady thinks I’m being “rude”…ssshheesh… The colony consists of 1600 breeding pairs. The bay is also home to Hector’s Dolphin and Southern Right Whales can be seen offshore. All-in-all, a great place to be, unless you happen to have an aversion to cyamids which like to colonize on the whales… eeewwwww….
And it’s home to the Blue River Dairy, a sustainable and vertically integrated farm. Blue River owns its farmland; milks its own sheep; transports its milk to its own factory where they make cheese, ice cream and sheep’s milk powder.
Pecorino comes from the Italian word “Pecora” which means “Ewe”, although in the English language the word includes many other hoofed mammals. However, in the world of cheese… and that’s the only one that counts as far as this Feline Foodie is concerned… it means if the cheese has “Pecorino” in the name, you’ve got sheep’s milk cheese.
Curio Bay Pecorino is made from 100% pure sheep’s milk and aged for at least five months. It has a natural rind and is white color with just a hint of yellow.
This pecorino is crumbly and salty with the tang of the sheep without the lanolin aftertaste that sometimes is found in sheep milk cheese. We enjoyed this on a cheese plate to savor the taste of the pecorino… and savor we did… this is one fine cheese.
I give Curio Bay Pecorino 3 Paws out of 4 Paws (cause that’s all I’ve got).
Serving Suggestions: On a cheese plate is never a bad way to go. This is also an excellent grating cheese and goes well with pasta and tossed into a salad as well.
Wine Pairing: An Italian Chianti is always a good choice.
Beer Pairing: New Zealand’s Croucher Crewing Company Pale Ale
Source: Friesian Sheep Milk
Awards: 2010 Champion of Sheep Cheese Award
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