In recent years there seems to have been an increase in international awareness of Portuguese cuisine, with pasteis de nata and Douro wines being celebrated all over the world. In the same way, while Portuguese cheese may not enjoy the international reputation of French or Italian cheeses, they have a lot to offer with a large variety across the country, proven by 12 of them having Denominação de Origem Protegida designations.
While we didn’t get the opportunity to try them all in our month in Portugal, we did eat our fair share. Here’s our top three:
3. Serra da Estrela
Probably one of the most popular Portuguese cheeses, this sheep’s cheese hails from the mountainous Serra da Estrela region in the northeast of Portugal, near the border with Spain. It uses a recipe that’s more than 2000 years old and changes drastically when aged, from a very soft almost liquid cheese when young to a sliceable cheese when old, with a brie-like texture. This is how we had it, its delicate flavour going very well with grapes, crackers and a chilled white wine – the Dão region provides great tasting and complex white wines.
2. Azeitão
Azeitão is a creamy sheep’s milk cheese from – surprise, surprise – Azeitão, close to Setúbal and south-east of Lisbon. It’s also vegetarian friendly, using thistle flowers instead of animal rennet. It has a complex, nutty and rather powerful taste, instantly given away by its incredibly powerful odour that clings to your fingers (although not the type of cheese that’s so strong it makes you cry). It’s best served out of the fridge for an hour to two to allow it to soften up for you to use as a dip. Share it with a friend or two with a few crudités, as if you were sharing a camembert. Consider pairing it with a Moscatel, which the region is also famous for producing.
1. São Jorge
From the island of São Jorge in the Azores, São Jorge cheese is also often known more simply as island cheese, Queijo da Ilha. This is a semi-hard to hard cheese with an intense spicy and strong flavour, almost like a very strong Cheddar. If you like your cheese strong, it’s worth forking out a little extra on a two-year-aged São Jorge cheese. It can be eye-wateringly strong and goes well with a spicy port.
Comments