Pecorino Romano cheese – fantastic hiking food

Arguably,  the Roman Legions were the world’s first thoroughly professional army.

The Roman legionaries were not warriors.

They were soldiers.

Individually they were not great fighters.

As a unit?  That is a different tale.

Their organization, discipline, tactics, and training made them a force that stood for centuries.

And part of this training and tactics? Marching anywhere from 18-21 modern MPD with sixty+ lbs of gear in ~6 of our hours. And then constructing fortifications at the end of this march.

And how were they powered on these marches?

A large variety of food. Some of which still sound scrumptious to our modern palates. After all, they are the ancestors of modern-day Italians (and their American descendants). 😉

And among this variety of food taken was a hard, salty, and yummy cheese. A type of cheese that is nearly identical two-thousand years later: Pecorino Romano.

It packs well, is calorie-dense, digests easily, and in the hot weather, it still keeps quite efficient. The higher sodium content makes the food a tasty treat when physically exerting yourself. Perfect for, say, oh, hiking in the Utah canyons in late spring!

Pecorino Romano was excellent food for long-term marches for some possible distant ancestors of mine. And the same properties also make it work well for much less burdened modern time hikers.

As my hiking continues to evolve, I crave “real” food more and more. Beef jerky, tortillas, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, and, yes, cheese.  Energy bars? I’ll eat them sure… esp when free. But if I want a so-called energy bar for a quick nosh, my old standby of Snickers Bars still seems to work for less money! And the real food mentioned earlier tastes better.

And this excellent cheese works so well for my hiking. I can pick up a hunk at the local Costco that lasts for weeks in the fridge. And it is even made with sheep’s milk, at $7 or so a pound, not that inexpensive. But with 110 calories per ounce, not bad at all, really.  And considering the price of  Clif Bars (even if bought in bulk) and their taste, to get the same amount of calories as a pound of this cheese,  the price does not seem so bad after all. ( Did I mention I prefer Snicker Bars as my so-called energy bar of choice? 😉 )

So consider packing some Pecorino Romano-style cheese ^[1] for your backpacking trips.

Long-lasting, calorie-dense, and yummy.

Good enough for a highly trained professional soldier on the march.

Good enough for you.

And indeed, good enough for me!

(And consider packing it in old-school cheesecloth. ) 

^[1] Technically speaking, the cheese is only Pecorino Romano if it is made in very specific regions of Italy. But I am not a foodie. I just like good food and would rather not be pedantic. Just so legions of foodies (see what I did there?) don’t bombard me; we’ll just call it Pecorino Romano style for this article’s purpose.