With France, the Netherlands and Italy dominating in the global mindset of good cheese, it can lead to a bit of an oversight when it comes to how much variety is offered by other European cheeses, with countries like Portugal (read our guide to Portuguese cheese here) and our native Wales having plenty to offer. Another cheese giant is Spain, fans of powerful flavours with an unrelenting complexity to them.
There are 26 cheeses in Spain with Protected Designations of Origin (DOP), and hundreds more without. The cheeses are as varied as the regions of Spain, with the salty yet nutty Mahón from Menorca to the soft and creamy Queso de Tetilla in Galicia. There’s nothing better than sitting down in a bodega with a glass of wine (read our guide to Valencian wines here), cheese, membrillo and jamón ibérico – an incredibly impressive culinary tradition in itself where artisans train intensely at times to be able to cut the ham correctly (read our guide here). With so much cheese to choose from, it can get a little panic-enducing and possibly lead to lactic overdose, so here’s our top three to try:
3. Queso Manchego
The best-known Spanish cheese is as Spanish as they come, even sharing the same birthplace as Don Quixote: La Mancha, hence the name Manchego. Made from manchega sheep’s milk and aged between 60 days and two years, the older the better for Manchego for those who like a bite to their cheese. You’ll often see Manchego, and other Spanish cheeses, with the following labels: fresco, meaning that it’s two weeks old (thus technically not Manchego), with a rich, creamy flavour; semicurado, aged between three and four months, light, creamy and rather soft; curado, aged between three and six months with a slight nuttiness; viejo, aged up to two years, deeply complex yet not overpowering. For the fresco and semicurado, consider pairing with a light Muscat de Valencia, but the older Manchegos are better served with a peppery red like a Rioja Tempranillo.
2. Idiazabal
This is another sheep’s cheese, this time however coming from Basque Country and Navarre. Strong and smoky, Idiazabal is often eaten with quince jam to supplement the nutty flavour. Idiazabal is aged, ranging from semicurado to curado, and can even be smoked – often coming with Basque symbols depicted on the rind. These also pair well with Tempranillos from the neighbouring La Rioja. Fans of Basque cheeses should also consider the creamier Ossau-Iraty.
1. Cabrales
My word, this cheese is something else. This is a cheese for those that like their cheeses to pack a punch so strong it knocks their head off and leaves them wondering what happened to them as they come to half an hour later nursing their jaws. This Asturian blue cheese is an experience, made traditionally from cow’s milk and sometimes blended with sheep’s and goat’s milk. It was also, along with some other Spanish blues, traditionally sold in moist Sycamore Maple leafs, although now that’s not so common. Complex, nutty, creamy and all-conquering, this cheese is the most memorable of Spanish cheeses. If you’re pairing with wine, don’t get one you care too much about: you won’t be able to taste it anyway. Or get a very powerful yet clear dessert wine, like a Valencian Moscatel. Tart mango chutneys or membrillo on biscuits are also a nice accompliment.
While we’re on the subject of Spanish cheeses, Spain also has a unique cheesecake traidition that’s worth ordering for dessert. Originally from Cantabria, a region in the north of Spain famed for its dairy products, this style of cheesecake (quesada pasiega) is heavier than New York varieties and is delicious served cold with a little cinammon and a dessert wine or espresso.
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