Back when spice-trade fortunes first were made from what we now use as condiments, pepper was a semi-precious stone. The traditional salt-and-pepper pair up is said to come from salt's necessity — before refrigeration it extended the life of foods better left for dead by masking their rancid flavor — and pepper's place of pride. If you were fortunate enough to have pepper, you wanted everyone to know it. Pepper was the new car in the driveway of its day.
In modern times, whole peppercorns seem more something to avoid than embrace — that's why we left the middle ages with grinders. Understandably, you might hesitate to find one in your cheese. But Bellwether Farms' pairing of firm, high-tang sheep's milk cheese and whole peppercorns works out perfectly. Perfect Pepato.
Pepato is a variation of Bellwether's San Andreas, an homage to perhaps the most famous sheep's milk cheese, Pecorino. Both cheeses are aged for a bit over three months, which firms the wheel and intensifies the flavors. For Pepato, whole peppercorns are added to the recipe.
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