Brocciu cheese: ready to discover one of the most typical flavors of Corsica?

In the island of beauty, it is a real matter of pride. To give an idea, it’s called casgiu naziunale, that means “national cheese”. Don’t taste it could be considered an offense. And, above all, it would be a shame, because you’d lose an authentic piece of Corsica. This is the famous brocciu cheese.

The flavor – There are two types of brocciu: one is made with ewe’s milk, the other is made with goat’s milk. The taste is very similar to ricotta (an Italian soft cheese) but the taste is much more intense and the consistency is more compact. It is sold both fresh and hard or semi-hard (in the second case, it is called brocciu passu). The best time to eat is from November to June

How to eat it – Traditionalists eat it accompanied only with a small slice of bread. This cheese is part in the preparation of different specialties, such as frittata incù u brocciu (omelet with brocciu), pulenta incù u brocciu (corn mush prepared with brocciu) and cannelloni filled with brocciu. Brocciu is also one of the ingredients of the charcuterie, one of the seven things to eat in Corsica.

Where you can buy it – Since we are talking about the casgiu naziunale, you can buy brocciu cheese in all villages and towns of Corsica. But there is a famous destination where you can find all the typical products of Corsica: it is Sartène.

Image source: Flickr.com/photos/paolosub