Ovino means sheep. Sardo signifies from or made on the island of Sardegna. Combine the two creating Ovin Sardo, a pasteurized sheep’s-milk bleu cheese.

Hand-crafted by a small dairy in the northwestern corner of Sardegna, this cheese benefits greatly from its location. Rugged hills with a high, rocky coastline provide ideal grazing for the island’s indigenous sheep. Wild grasses and wild herbs flavor the milk, with winds blowing in from the Balearic Sea, a unit of the Mediterranean Sea, providing good aging conditions.

Both French Roquefort and Ovin Sardo are made with ewe’s milk and inoculated with Penicillium Roqueforti. Roquefort is aged for 3 to 9 months mostly in caves, while Ovin Sardo is aged for 3 to 4 months. Bleu veining tends to be distributed throughout Roquefort giving a salty, strong piquant flavor and dry, crumbly texture. Ovin Sardo has a refined bleu veining running mostly through its center keeping it moist with a sweet flavor and a smooth, creamy texture. Unlike many bleu cheeses that are semi-hard and break apart into brittle pieces, it slices beautifully, can be broken into small nuggets, and tastes great when stirred into sauces. If you love creating cheese platters or antipasto platters, try this Italian sheep's-milk cheese because it adds such a special quality and pairs well with breadsticks, fruits, nuts, and salumi.