Manchego Cheese

Is made in the La Mancha region of Spain (also the home of Don Quixote) from the milk of sheep of the manchega breed. Official manchego cheese is to be aged for between 60 days and two years.

Manchego has a firm and compact consistency and a buttery texture, and often contains small, unevenly distributed air pockets. The colour of the cheese varies from white to ivory-yellow, and the inedible rind from yellow to brownish-beige. The cheese has a distinctive flavour, well-developed but not too strong, creamy with a slight piquancy, and leaves an aftertaste that is characteristic of sheep’s milk.

Manchego has variety of different flavours depending on its age. There are four versions of maturity sold:

• Fresco – the fresh cheese is aged for only 2 weeks, with a rich but mild flavour. Produced in small quantities, it is rarely found outside Spain.
• Semicurado is a semi-firm cheese aged for three weeks to three months, somewhat milder than curado.
• Curado is a semi-firm cheese aged for three to six months with a sweet and nutty flavor.
• Viejo, aged for one year is firm with a sharper flavour the longer it is aged and a rich deep pepperiness to it. It grates well, but can also be eaten on its own or as tapas.