From The Food Encyclopedia by Jacques Rolland and Carol Sherman
From the Italian pecora, meaning "ewe" or "sheep", in all probability the oldest Italian cheese, dating back to ancient Rome. Then, as now, the cheeses were shaped and laid on canestri, rush mats strung together like hammocks, to let the cheese air-dry. Sicilian pecorino is still called canestro after these rush mats. All Italian cheeses made from ewe's milk are known as pecorino, but they vary a great deal in texture and flavor, from soft and mild to dry and strong.
