The AnyCheese Holiday Gift Guide

Cheeses from Spain

A guide to cheeses from Spain, highlighting the country's most notable and diverse varieties.

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Queso Manchego

Manchego is a PDO sheep milk cheese from the La Mancha region of Spain, made only with whole milk from Manchega sheep. It is firm and buttery, aged between 60 days and two years, with a creamy, slightly piquant flavor …

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Sheep's milk
Texture: Compact
Flavor: Slightly acidic

Arzúa-Ulloa

Arzúa-Ulloa is a soft cow's milk cheese from Galicia, Spain, protected as Arzúa-A Ulloa PDO. It is known for a thin yellow rind, a creamy pale paste, and a mild flavor that is slightly sweet and grassy.

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Cow's milk (raw or pasteurized)
Texture: Soft
Flavor: Slightly salty and pleasantly acidic, buttery and milky with nutty notes

Idiazabal

Idiazabal is a pressed sheep's milk cheese from the Basque Country, made with unpasteurized milk and named after a town in Gipuzkoa. It is usually sold unsmoked, tastes strong and slightly piquant, and has held a Denomination of Origin since …

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Sheep
Texture: Semi-Hard
Flavor: Intense, slightly piquant

Mahón-Menorca

Mahón-Menorca is a white cow's milk cheese from the island of Menorca, named after the town and port of Mahón. It runs soft to hard depending on age, with an orange rind rubbed with butter or oil and paprika and …

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Friesian, Menorcan, Brown Alpine cow’s milk, some ewe’s milk (max 5%)
Texture: Firm
Flavor: Salty and spicy

Afuega'l Pitu

Afuega'l pitu is an unpasteurized cow's milk cheese from Asturias in northern Spain, sold plain white or paprika red. Its name translates as "strangle the chicken," and it holds Protected Designation of Origin status from Spain and the EU.

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Soft
Flavor: Lactic, slightly sour, salted in fresh or hardly ripened cheeses; strong and spicy as ripening progresses

Queso de Valdeón

Queso de Valdeón is a Spanish blue cheese made in Posada de Valdeón, in the northeast of León province. It holds PGI status and is known for a very intense blue flavor that stays less biting than that of its …

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Cow’s, or a mix of cow’s, sheep’s, and goat’s milk
Texture: Low elasticity, crumbly, melts in the mouth
Flavor: Intense, salty, piquant, lightly ardent

Queso Tetilla

Tetilla is a cow's milk cheese from Galicia, Spain, molded into a cone with a nipple-like peak that gives it its name. Soft, creamy and pale yellow, it is a staple of Galician cooking and is often eaten as dessert.

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Cow
Texture: Soft to semi-cured
Flavor: Milky, slightly sour, mildly salty

Torta del Casar

Torta del Casar is a sheep's milk cheese from Extremadura, Spain, curdled with cardoon thistle rather than animal rennet. Aged at least sixty days, it goes creamy in the center, so it is eaten by slicing off the top and …

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Sheep's milk
Texture: Very soft and spreadable
Flavor: Rich, slightly bitter

Queso Palmero

Queso Palmero is a goat cheese from La Palma in the Canary Islands, made with unpasteurised milk and kid rennet. It carries Denomination of Origin protection and is often lightly smoked over almond shells, dried cactus or Canarian pine.

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Goat
Texture: Firm, varies with aging
Flavor: Mild and milky when fresh, developing more complexity when aged

Cabrales

Cabrales is a blue cheese made by rural dairy farmers in the Asturias mountains of Spain, from raw cow's milk alone or blended with goat and sheep milk. It is known for its strong, sometimes sharply acidic flavor and for …

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Unctuous, compact, no eyes
Flavor: Intense, piquant

Iberico

Queso Iberico is a hard cheese from Spain made using a blend of cow's, goat's, and sheep's milk. It can be crafted from either pasteurized or unpasteurized milk, contributing to its rich and aromatic profile. This cheese has a buttery …

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Cow's, goat's and sheep's milk
Texture: Hard
Flavor: Buttery, nutty, strong

Monte Enebro

Monte Enebro is an artisanal goat cheese from Avila, Spain, created by cheesemaker Rafael Baez and his daughter Paloma. It has a distinctive ash-covered rind with a creamy, slightly acidic interior that features strong, tangy blue mold flavors developing towards …

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Goat's milk
Texture: Smooth, dense
Flavor: Bold, goaty, tang, pleasing spice

Queso de Burgos

Queso de Burgos is a fresh white cheese from the province of Burgos, Spain, eaten within days of being made. Once a sheep's milk cheese sold at the Burgos market, it received EU Protected Geographical Indication status in September 2025.

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Cow’s and sheep’s milk
Texture: Fresh, slightly grainy or buttery, elastic, slightly fatty
Flavor: Mild, milky, and slightly sweet

Queso Garrotxa

Garrotxa is a pasteurized goat cheese from Catalonia, Spain, made from Murciana goat milk and aged in caves. It is known for its powdery gray-blue rind, firm semi-soft body, ivory interior, and mildly acidic, earthy flavor.

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Goat
Texture: Firm, smooth
Flavor: Mild lactic notes

Queso Zamorano

Zamorano is a hard sheep's milk cheese from the province of Zamora, Spain, typically aged about six months in cellars. Wheels run about 11 kg (24 lb), carry a zigzag pattern on the rind, and taste creamy and nutty with …

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Sheep's milk
Texture: Firm and compact
Flavor: Intense, nutty, buttery, slightly piquant

Cuajada

Cuajada is a soft cheese from Spain, traditionally made from either cow's or sheep's milk. It has a creamy texture that is smooth and slightly gelatinous. The flavor is mild and fresh, with a hint of natural sweetness. Often enjoyed …

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Cow's or sheep's milk
Texture: Soft

Cebreiro

Cebreiro is a Galician cow's milk cheese shaped like a mushroom or a chef's hat. Sold fresh, it has a white, spreadable paste and a milky, slightly acidic taste; cured, it turns firm and yellow with a sharper, metallic edge.

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Pasteurized Cow's
Texture: Soft, spreadable
Flavor: Milky, slightly acidic

Queso de La Serena

Queso de La Serena is a sheep milk cheese from the La Serena district of Extremadura, Spain, curdled with a coagulant from cardoon pistils. Young, with a creamy centre, it is called Torta de La Serena and eaten with a …

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Sheep
Texture: Soft to semi-hard
Flavor: Slightly bitter, pleasant

Queso de Murcia

Queso de Murcia is a fatty goat's milk cheese from south-east Spain with Protected Designation of Origin status, made only from Murcian goats in registered herds. It is sold fresh and very white, or cured for at least sixty days …

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Goat’s milk
Texture: Soft and elastic (fresh) / Firm and compact (cured)
Flavor: Mild, slightly sweet (fresh) / Persistent, lactic, with vegetal and roasted notes (cured)

Roncal

Roncal is a hard cheese made from raw sheep's milk in the Roncal Valley of the Navarrese Pyrenees. In 1981 it became the first Spanish cheese granted a denomination of origin, and it is known for its intense, slightly spicy …

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Sheep's milk
Texture: Hard or semihard
Flavor: Well developed, pronounced

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