Spain
Queso de Murcia or Murcian Wine Cheese is a pasteurised goat's milk cheese from the Murcia region of Spain. It is a pressed, washed, uncooked cheese aged for a minimum of 45 days in case of wheels over 500 grams or 30 days for others.
The pate is semi-soft with small eyes, ivory white, slightly acidic and creamy to taste. On the outside, the rind appears purple, characteristic of red wine baths during maturation. As with other Spanish cheeses, Queso de Murcia is eaten with beer or wine or as a part of meal with fruits & nuts.
The Manchego is produced in the La Mancha region of Spain, which is also home to Don Quixote. It is made from unpasteurised sheep's milk. It is one of the popular cheeses from Spain, made from sheep's milk. It also comes under the PDO guidelines.
The traditional use of grass moulds leaves a distinctive, characteristic zigzag pattern on the Manchego cheese. Authentic Manchego is only made from the Manchego sheep's milk. Manchego cheese is made from both pasteurised and unpasteurised milk. The farmhouse version is produced from unpasteurised milk while the industrial version is produced from pasteurised milk.
The rind is inedible with a distinctive, traditional herringbone basket weave pattern, pressed on it. A typical ear wheat pattern is pressed onto the top and bottom wheels of the cheese. There are specific differences in Manchego cheeses, depending on their aging period.
Semi Curado - Young Manchego cheese is aged around 3 months are supple and moist. The flavour is fruity, grass, hay with a tangy note.
Curado - Manchego cheese aged for 6 months acquires a caramel and nutty flavour. It has distinct acidity.
Viejo - Manchego cheese aged for a year becomes crumbly in texture while the interior of the cheese acquires a butterscotch colour. It has a sweet, lingering taste.
Manchego cheeses are best paired with a sherry. Cheeses similar to Manchego are called 'Machego like cheeses', but the producers cannot legally name the cheese as Manchego.
This celebrated cheese has won gold and silver award at the 2014 World Cheese Awards.
Mahon, named after the port of Mahon on the Minorca island, Spain, is a cow's milk cheese, produced by various dairies. Mahon is soft to hard cheese with buttery, sharp, salty in taste. During maturation the cheese is hand rubbed with butter / paprika or oil. Mahon is sold at different ages ranging from 2 months to 10 months.
Artesano Mahon / Artisanal Mahon, made using raw milk is aged for 2 to 3 months that is superior in flavour than the aged version. The texture is close, dense with occasional hole throughout the paste which is ivory in colour.
Mahon Reserva / Aged Mahon is harder and drier in texture, more salty in taste.
Industrial version of Mahon is made using pasteurized milk what has milder flavour.
A traditional way of eating Mahon is by sprinkling it with black pepper, tarragon and olive oil. It pairs well with Madeira or Rioja.
Queso Iberico is a Spanish cheese made from a mixture of cow's, sheep's, and goat’s milk. The ratio of blend used in the making this hard cheese is constantly altered according to seasonal availability.
The distinctive piquant taste of this white cheese ranges from nutty to fruity. It has a rich, buttery texture that goes well when served as a snack cheese, a grating cheese or a grilling cheese. The aging time for this Manchego lookalike can vary from a couple of months to a year.
Garrotxa is a traditional goat's milk cheese produced in the Garrotxa area of Catalonia in Northern Spain. It was almost extinct when some young cheesemakers revived it in 1981. Since then it has become a popular cheese among artisanal cheesemakers.
Garrotxa is a semi-hard, aged or young cheese with a soft paste and a moist, creamy, yet almost flaky, texture. It is covered by a velvety grey mold coating that lends it a woody aroma, although it is best not eaten with the cheese. The flavour is reminiscent of damp earth underlined by slightly nutty & herbal essences. Its milky, delicate taste is not at all typical of a goat’s cheese. Garrotxa pairs well with crusty country bread, nuts and is best served with white wines such as a Catalonian Priorat, Pinot Gris, Verdejo, or Chardonnay.
Idiazabal (also known as Idiazabel / Queso Idiazabal La Vasco Navarra) is a traditional, farmhouse, hard cheese made from raw milk of Latxa or Carranza sheep in the Basque and Navarra regions of northern Spain. Named after the village of Idiazabal, the cheese received Spanish D.O. (Denominacion de Origen) in 1987.
In summer, the sheep migrate to higher pastures to graze on the blossoming, new grass. During this time, the artisanal cheese makers milk the sheep, make the cheese and leave it in the rafters to mature for a minimum ripening of 2 months. At the end of summer when the cheese makers return back to the lowlands with their sheep, the cheese has ripened and is ready for sale.
Idiazabal is produced in the shape of a cylinder, with a smooth and hard natural rind that is pale yellow to amber in colour. The cheese has a compact texture, with a few pinprick holes. It is dry, but not crumbly, and feels pleasantly oily in the mouth. The rind carries the marks of the wooden moulds in which it was drained. The characteristic, smoky flavour is the result of the cheeses having been stored near the fireplaces. There were no chimneys in the simple mountain huts, so the cheeses absorbed the sweet, aromatic smoke. The taste of the cheese is reminiscent of burnt caramel and bacon. It pairs well with red wine and cider.
PDO Idiazabal smoked cheese has won a Super Gold medal at the 2014 World Cheese Awards. It is declared as one of the world's 62 best cheeses. It is also available in natural flavour.
Roncal is a Spanish cheese made in the Roncal Valley, north Navarre in the Basque territory near the border of France. It is protected by the Protected designation of origin (PDO) as per which the cheese should be made only between the months from December to July from raw sheep milk of Rasa and Lacha breed.
Made from whole milk, Roncal is a wheel-shaped cheese that is covered with a hard, natural rind dotted by velvety-smooth layer of blue-gray mould. This greenish moldy surface is occasionally covered in olive oil. Inside, the ivory white to pale yellow paste is firm, elastic and slightly grainy, with small, irregular holes. As Roncal ages, the beige interior turns to amber and becomes increasingly tangy. It has a sweet, herbaceous flavour, thanks to the natural pastures of wild grasses, herbs and flowers on which the sheep graze. An optimal aged Roncal leaves a sharp, slightly spicy and buttery flavour on the palate that goes well with a Sauvignon Blanc or a Tempranillo.
Tetilla is a typical Galician cheese made from the herd of Friesians, Alpine Browns and Rubia Gallega cows. Since 1992, it has been one of the four cheeses that received DOP recognition. The name Tetilla is Galician for “small breast”, which describes the shape of the cheese – a pear shaped cone topped by a nipple.
This cheese has a pale yellow, thin, natural rind or sometimes no rind can be seen at all. Its texture is soft, thick and smooth with scatterings of air pockets. Yellowish ivory in colour Tetilla has a creamy mouth feel with buttery, slightly bitter and tangy flavours surrounding the palate. The maturing, which takes place between 10 and 30 days, happens in the hot and humid climate of Galicia.
Try Tetilla with dry full-bodied wine, sherry, young whites, manzanilla and especially the Galician whites - albariño or ribeiro. Spanish love their cheese with quince paste, fruit, crackers, baked dishes and bread.
Picos de Europa, also known as Valdeon, is a Spanish blue cheese produced in Valdeon Valley of Castile-Leon region of the northwestern Spain. Made all year round with cow or goat’s milk or a mixture of both, the cheese has very dense blue veining and comes wrapped in maple or chestnut leaves. Since leaf wrapping is no more allowed these days, it comes wrapped in leaf printed aluminum foil. Queso di Valdeon has been awarded a status of Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) to regulate the production, processing and preparation of the cheese. In 2005, the the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food granted the cheese an award for best Blue Veined Spanish Cheese.
A bold and salty cheese, Valdeon uniqueness lies in its manufacturing process, which includes long and traditional maturing in the cold, damp cellars until the cheese reaches a mature or medium mature age. The pate of Valdeon has a soft, granular texture and pale yellow colour and is full of small cavities filled with blue moulds. Covered by a coarse, inconsistent rind in dark grey shades with little red marks, Valdeon is very strong and spicy in taste similar to Roquefort. A powerful smelling cheese, Valendon greasy, buttery paste is perfect for preparing any kind of blue cheese sauce. The rich smell of the cheese makes a good company with fresh fruit and strong red wine or sherry.
Cabrales, also known as Quesu Cabrales, Queso de Cabrales or Cabraliego, is a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) awarded, Spanish semi-hard, fatty blue cheese, prepared within the administrative region of Cabrales Council and some towns in the Upper Peñamerella region. Both these areas are located at the foot of the Picos de Europa Mountains in Asturias.
The cheese is a mixture of raw cows, goats and sheep's milk aged for between two and four months in natural formed limestone caves. Chilly and humid conditions in the caves facilitate the growth of bluish-green penicillium mould on this highly prized cheese. Unlike other blue cheeses injected with penicillium, Cabrales cures from the outside of the cheese to the inward.
A finished Cabrales can be characterized by its strong, penetrating aroma and sharp, acidic, slightly salty taste. It pairs well with red wine, fresh figs, salami, sweet sherry and dry sausages. The cheese is treasured as a base for sauces, for melting over grilled or roasted meats and goes well along with baguette slices, crackers, or fruit.
Earlier, a traditional Cabrales was sold wrapped in moist leaves of Acer pseudoplatanus. But today regulation requires the cheese be sold in a dark-green-coloured aluminum foil with the stamp of the PDO Queso de Cabrales.
Cured Goat Cheese with Paprika by Buenalba.
Buenalba, a small family cheese-maker from La Mancha for four generations, is proud to offer this incredible cheese... 'Cured Goat Cheese with Paprika'.
Smoked paprika from 'La Vera' is blended directly into the cheese, giving a distinctive Spanish flavour and delightful colour to this very special cheese, which comes only from this vibrant spice. The cheese is made using fresh raw goat milk, and is cured for between 4 - 6 months.
Buenalba cheeses are unique, with a beautiful presentation and a delightful, approachable flavour profile. All are made by the Alvarez Valera family, who shepherd the animals themselves, thus ensuring the freshest, finest quality cheeses possible. The family has been running the company for four generations, with decades of experience and a focus on top-quality, all-natural cheeses.
Cana de Cabra is a soft-ripened cheese made from pasteurized goat's milk, in Murcia, Spain. This cheese is similar to the French Bucheron. This creamy, buttery, mild and delicious cheese has a bloomy rind with semi-soft texture. Cana de Cabra is aged for 21 days, as it ages, the flavour intensifies. It pairs well with white wine, almonds and fig spread.
