SPANISH CHEESE

Spain produces some of the world’s finest cheeses, and many of them are now available in the United States. Yet it wasn’t too long ago that regional, artisanal cheese production was illegal in Spain.
During the Franco years, when the government was highly centralized and regionalism was repressed, only 10,000 liters of milk per day were authorized to be made into cheese. In 1968 a report by the Ministry of Agriculture described forty-two cheeses; thirty of them were illegal.
Government decrees notwithstanding, go to the central market in Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, or Malaga, and the enticing displays of cheeses from all over the country will tell you that the Spanish have always been cheese makers and cheese eaters. The first Cheeses of Spain poster was published in 1986. On it were forty-eight cheeses, nearly half of them still illegal under Spanish law. That same year the first Spanish artisanal cheese fair was held, drawing over 100,000 visitors. Regional cheeses began to be promoted in stores, markets, and in cooking magazines.
By the 1990s the laws had caught up with the times, and artisanal cheese makers were recognized by the government, which began to distinguish and protect regional cheeses with the Denomination of Origin (DO) status, and, in 1992, published the first official catalog of Spanish cheeses. Spain was designated The Country of 100 Cheeses in 1996; a book entitled 100 Cheeses followed in 1998, and then a poster entitled Spain, the Land of 100 Cheeses. Today cheese is among the many traditional Spanish ingredients that inspire chefs. You can find Spanish cheeses at good cheese stores and from online sources.

Some Favorite Spanish Cheeses

Cabra al Vino, Murcia al Vino.
These are two different winebathed goat’s milk cheeses from the Murcia region. The rind is bathed in red wine for up to three days during ripening, which tints it a deep purplish red. Inside, the cheese is white, mild, and smooth, with a distinctly floral bouquet and a bold flavor.

Cabrales
One of Spain’s best known cheeses, from the mountainous northern Asturias region, this is a blue cheese made from a mix of cow, goat, and sheep’s milk. It matures in caves for at least three months and develops its own natural blue veins. It’s a sharp, rich cheese that can be used as you would use any other blue cheese.

Garrotxa
This is a semisoft goat’s milk cheese from Catalonia. Production was begun in the early 1970s by a group of Catalan professionals who wanted to revive cheese making in the region.

Ibérico
A Manchego-style cheese with the same sort of crosshatched pattern on its rind, Ibérico is made from pasteurized cow, goat, and sheep’s milk. It is firm, oily, and aromatic.

Idiazabal
This is a handmade Basque cheese made in the Spanish Pyrenees from unpasteurized sheep’s milk. One of the country’s most popular cheeses, it has a smoky flavor, a legacy of the Basque tradition of aging their cheeses in chimneys. Today the rich, buttery cheese is lightly smoked.

Mahon
Spain’s second most popular cheese after Manchego, this 100 percent cow’s milk cheese is produced exclusively in the Balearic island of Menorca. It is a complex cheese, with a buttery/nutty/tangy flavor. In Spain it’s served sliced, drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with black pepper and herbs.

Majorero
This cheese, made from unpasteurized goat’s milk, was awarded Best Hard DO Cheese at the 2005 World Cheese Awards. It’s made on the island of Feurteventura in the Canary Islands, and pressed in palm fronds, which leave an attractive imprint on its ocher-colored rind.

Manchego
Spain’s best known cheese, Manchego is made in the central region of La Mancha from 100 percent sheep’s milk. It can be aged from two months to more than a year. Manchego Reserve is a sharper, nuttier, more brittle cheese that is aged for over 12 months.

Murcia
This satiny goat’s cheese from Murcia has a distinctive lemony-peppery flavor.

Roncal
One of Spain’s most highly esteemed cheeses, this is produced in the Roncal Valley, in the Navarra region of the Spanish Pyrenees. Made from unpasteurized sheep’s milk, it has a moist, smooth texture similar to Manchego except a little drier, and with a rustic, nutty flavor. It’s often served with membrillo (quince paste).

Tetilla
From Galicia comes this famous semisoft cow’s cheese, whose name means “nipple.” The cheese is shaped like a woman’s breast. It has a waxy yellow rind, an elastic, creamy interior, and a mild, buttery flavor. It’s an excellent melting cheese.

Torta del Casar

This luxurious, semisoft sheep’s cheese is from Extremadura. It is disk-shaped with a thin, soft rind. As it ripens, the inside remains semi-liquid, causing the cheese to sink in the middle and giving it its cakelike shape (hence the name). Traditionally, it is warmed slightly in the oven before serving, then the top rind is cut off and the runny insides are eaten with a spoon. The flavor is herbaland slightly bitter, due to the use of wild thistle to coagulate the milk.


By Martha Rose Shulman in the book "Spain and the World Table", published by DK Publishing, New York, 2008, excerpts from page 33. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.