Piacentinu is a wheel of semihard cheese made with sheep's milk. It has a yellow compact paste and a soft rind. It is a traditional cheese, recorded as far back as 1100 of Enna in Sicily. Contrary to what you might think, the name does not derive from Piacenza but from a local dialect word meaning 'enjoyable'. It is made with raw, whole milk and is flavoured with pepper and saffron. Still more flavour is attained by the fact that the sheep from whose milk the cheese is made mainly graze on veccia, a leguminous plant or vetch. The wheels are usually 36 - 41 cm (14-16") in diameter and weighs anything between 6 – 12 kg (13 - 26 lbs).
