SPANISH P.D.O. CHEESE FROM SPAIN
WITH DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN
Spain has a rich cheese-making heritage that has been passed down from generation to generation. It boasts a number of regions that have become renowned for producing distinct and high-quality cheeses. Some of the most popular include Manchego, Roncal, Tetilla, Mahon, Idiazabal, and Cabrales. Over 100 different varieties of cheese can be found within its regions, from fresh cheese to cured, semi cured and blue-veined.
Several factors influence the finished product, each developing its own unique characteristics: the type of milk (sheep, goat, cow, or a mixture), the climate, the production methods, the traditions, and the type of curing process.
Cheese is a staple in Spanish gastronomy, enjoyed on a cheeseboard on its own or with some accompaniments, added as an ingredient in a recipe, or even eaten as a dessert.
In general, cow’s milk cheeses are found in the north, from Galicia to the Basque Country. In the flat lands of Central Spain, throughout a large area known as the Meseta, the majority of sheep’s milk cheeses are made, Castilla-La Mancha being the most renowned due to the popularity of Manchego P.D.O. cheese.
Finally, goat’s milk cheeses are found mostly along the regions of the Mediterranean coast, such as the famous Murcia al Vino P.D.O. With 26 cheeses with P.D.O. throughout the country, Spain is one of the European leaders in the cheese category.
Mahón Menorca P.D.O.
Originally from Menorca, Mahon cheese is made with pasteurized cow’s milk and the Mahon Artisan from raw cow’s milk. It can be soft, semi-cured, cured and aged. It is an uncooked pressed cheese, with a characteristic parallelepiped shape and rounded edges. Its paste is firm and easy to cut, ivory-yellowish in color.
San Simón P.D.O. - TETILLA P.D.O.
San Simon P.D.O. is a pasteurized cow’s milk cheese produced in Galicia, with a creamy paste and a slightly smoked aroma. Tetilla P.D.O. is made with pasteurized milk from Friesian cows. It is a typical Galician cheese with a soft texture and mild flavor, molded in the shape of a woman’s breast (hence its name).
Idiazabal P.D.O.
Raw Latxa sheep’s milk cheese available in two versions: lightly smoked with beech wood or white (unsmoked). This distinctive cheese from Navarra has a firm paste consistency, with smell and flavors of sheep’s milk with a spicy touch. It has a smoky smell of medium intensity.
Murcia al vino P.D.O.
Murcia al vino cheese has a unique and very original flavor. After pressing and molding it, the cheese is immersed in Red wine with Designation of Origin from the Murcia region, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. This process not only gives it the characteristic color of red wine, but all the flavors and aromas of the wine are impregnated into the paste. It has a firm texture and low-medium intensity flavor, with a smell of wine near the rind.
Roncal P.D.O.
Roncal P.D.O. cheese is made from raw Latxa sheep’s milk from the Navarra region, in the northeastern region of Spain.
Its production and ageing is carried out exclusively in one of the seven municipalities that make up the Roncal Valley. The production process is entirely artisanal, approved according to a series of requirements followed by all cheese dairies and farms and established by the Regulatory Council.
In March 1981, Roncal was the first Spanish cheese to be granted the Designation of Origin.
The aim is to guarantee the authenticity of the product and the method of production through the decades, in line with local tradition.
The only elements used in Roncal P.D.O. cheese are milk, animal rennet and salt, which have allowed for the preservation of the characteristic flavor and aroma of this cheese throughout the decades.
The production period is from December to July and the minimum ripening time is 4 months, which allows it to slowly acquire its signature taste and texture.
FIRST SPANISH CHEESE TO RECEIVE THE DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN.
The production process is entirely artisanal, approved according to a series of requirements followed by all cheese dairies and farms and established by the Regulatory Council.
In March 1981, Roncal was the first Spanish cheese to be granted the Designation of Origin.
The aim is to guarantee the authenticity of the product and the method of production through the decades, in line with local tradition.
