Dairy
Brocciu
Brocciu is Corsica’s celebrated whey cheese, made from sheep (or sheep–goat) whey often enriched with a little whole milk, then drained into soft, snowy forms. Fresh brocciu is moist, mildly sweet, and delicately lactic—eaten within days—while a lightly dried, salted brocciu passu keeps longer and takes on a firmer, more savoury edge. Sheep whey gives a floral, creamy richness that defines Corsican pastry and vegetable cookery. Fill fiadone cheesecake, stuff omelettes and cannelloni, spread on bread with fig jam, or bake under herbs. Use very fresh for desserts; older salted pieces suit savoury tarts. Keep refrigerated and sealed. AOP Brocciu is the island’s flagship dairy product—seek Corsican origin rather than generic ricotta substitutes.
Also known as: Brocciu Passu
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Characteristics
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Grading systems
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History
Corsican pastoral kitchens turned ewe-cheese whey into soft brocciu as a daily fresh cheese.
French AOC protection recognised Brocciu as Corsica’s emblematic whey cheese.
EU PDO/AOP status locked island production and traditional sheep (and goat) whey methods.