Cacio (Cheese) or Formaggio

Fernando probably hoped this posting would get off of food and talk about calcio (soccer).  I'll let him identify the Roman soccer team and its rivals.

This is about cacio, as in cacio e pepe, the cheese and pepper pasta dish we will absolutely have to try.  There are two words for cheese in Italian:  cacio and formaggio (the word one usually hears).  Evidently cacio is a more southern term (from the Latin caseus - cheese) and formaggio is northern (maybe the French influence of fromage - from the Latin forma - shape or mold).  However we call it, we need to learn about the local cheeses in Rome so that we don't make the mistake of asking for parmigiana instead of pecorino romano.

Pecorino Romano
Pecorino Romano is made from sheep’s milk (pecora is sheep) because Lazio (Rome's province) raises lots of sheep.  According to Eating Italy Food Tours, it is a key ingredient in all Roman pasta dishes and in the spring time (again) it is typically eaten with fresh fava beans on scampagnate (picnics).  They also like it with sweet things like figs and pears.  According to Wikipedia, it is a cheese from Ancient Rome but vegetarians can't eat it because it has to be made using lamb rennet.  A lot of the production now has been shifted to Sardinia but at Volpetti's you can get Pecorino Romano from Lazio.

Ricotta Romana
There is a Ricotta Romana DOP but I don't know if we can get it in the supermarkets, although except for the Sapori and Dintorni under the Termini train station, I haven't located many to put on my Google map.  I have read that they don't stand out like the ones in the suburbs with giant parking lots.  I wonder what we can get at the mercati.

According to formaggio.it, there are 50 cheeses from Rome and Lazio.  Cheese.com has descriptions of many Italian cheeses.

Burrata

Burrata
This is a mozzarella cheese originally from nearby Puglia that is stuffed with cream and more mozzarella.  Katie Parla first had it in New Jersey... but it seems everyone recommends getting it Roscioli's.  This New York Times article says you can get it everywhere in Rome.  But they say you have to eat it within 48 hours.  There also is a burrata di bufala.

Mozzarella
There is cow's milk mozzarella but the more famous one is buffalo milk mozzarella from Campania (as in Naples).  Since Campania is so close, we should take advantage of that.  We could try Obika Mozzarella Bar, which I thought was a Japanese restaurant when I first saw the name on a Google map, except their menu says they don't use any garlic or onions so what fun is that?  (Oh no!  they have a location in LA at Century City.) Katie Parla gives it a thumbs down.

Caciocavallo
No, this isn't cheese made from mare's milk but "cheese on horseback", getting its name from the manner in which the cheese is always tied together in pairs and dangled over a wooden board to drain and age.  It is made in different regions of southern Italy and from different animals: cows, buffalo and sheep.