Cheeses from Spain

Spain has a fantastic range of cheeses from fully matured Manchego to strong blues. You will find cheese made from the milk of cows, sheep and goats. Many are 'artisan' cheeses made in a traditional manner.

Queso de Aliva Ahumado

Queso de Aliva Ahumado is a lightly smoked cheese. This is one of the Denominacion de Origen Protegida cheeses from Cantabria. It can be made from a mix of cow, sheep and goat milk or just pasteurised cows milk. It is an aged cheese from soft to semi cured. Available in small half kilo rounds it is ideal for the cheese board. With a firm creamy texture and a subtle oak smoked flavour it goes well with fruit and sweet wines or port.

Cremositos del Zujar

This cheese is for the serious cheese eater. Cremositos del Zujar is a cheese made solely from the milk of merino sheep. It comes from Badajoz, which is in Extremadura close to the Portuguese border. The area is renowned for its green pastures, its cattle and sheep and the Extremadurians are justly proud of their produce.The cheese is smooth, aged, and just on the creamy side of firm. Its taste is sharp with a subtle flavour beneath. Its colour is a uniform creamy gold. Produced in small rounds, about 1.5 kgs, each cheese is wrapped in a lace doily that will be slightly mouldy. This cheese can take pride of place on a cheese board and should appeal to anybody that likes blue cheese. Sweet fruit and port offset the sharp taste perfectly.

Valdeon

Mention Spanish blue cheese and most people immediately think 'Cabrales'. However there are a number of others and this one, Valdeon, is one to look out for. Valdeon is a mixed milk cheese, predominantly cows milk, with varying proportions of goat and sheep milk. It is produced in the mountainous region northwest of Leon and is cured in caves found in that area. It is easily spotted on the cheese counter because it is wrapped in sycamore maple leaves. Do not let this put you off. Although creamy in texture the taste is sharp and salty, definitely an 'adult' taste. Perfect on a cheese board with a sweet sherry it is also great in a blue cheese sauce with endives for instance.

Tetilla

The word "tetilla" (meaning nipple) clearly defines the traditional shape of this cheese, that is, a flattened pear-shaped cone with a small nipple on the top. This is the most characteristic cheese from Galicia, easily recognized by its shape and smooth, fine, yellow strawcoloured rind. It is an aged cows milk cheese. Its shape comes from the mould into which it is first poured. The cheese is a soft paste, thick and smooth with few air pockets and is very creamy on the palate. The flavour is clean and smooth. This cheese can be eaten at any time during the day. It is also suitable for cooking, especially as stuffing and in recipes calling for a coating as it easily melts.It is the most popular traditional cheese in Galicia where it was originally made in isolated farms. Modern production techniques mean that this cheese is now available throughout Spain. Galicia's rural landscape is dotted with small villages and farms scattered across the province. The undulating topography and temperate, humid maritime climate has converted northwestern Spain into a huge meadow

La Flor de Ronda

La Flor de Ronda is a semi cured cheese made from a mix of cows and goats milk. It can be purchased in rounds weighing 1 kilo or more.

It has a smooth, firm texture and a strong nutty flavour. In appearance it's a cream coloured cheese with a brown rind with a 'basket weave' pattern. This cheese is perfect for a cheese board and with port, a good red Rioja also enhances its taste. As part of a ploughman's lunch, with pickle, it is perfect.

Monte Cabra

Continuing the survey of cheeses from Andalucia we move on to the small village of Campillos, west of Antequerra and on the railway between Algeciras and Granada. From this area comes a cheese called Monte Cabra.

As the name suggests this is a goat's milk cheese. It is white, soft, smooth and sold fresh. Its taste is similar to feta cheese but a little stronger, not at all sharp, and it complements salads and fruit. One of the recipes this month uses this cheese in a salad that includes tomatoes and watermelon. Unusual but delicious Being a fresh cheese, Monte Cabra will not keep long once opened. An excellent way to preserve this cheese is to cut it into cubes and place in a sterilized jar with a herb of your choice, rosemary is good, and then fill the jar with a light olive oil. The oil can be used after the cheese is eaten by drizzling it on tomatoes on a toasted baguette for a really Spanish snack.

As goats milk contains no beta-carotene, its cheese is more white in colour in comparison to that of cheese made from cows milk.