Cheeses from Spain

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

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Idiazabal

Idiazabal is a traditional Spanish cheese from the Basque Country, made from raw sheep's milk and often smoked over beechwood, giving it a distinctive, robust flavor. It has a slightly dry, but buttery texture, with a smoky, nutty taste. Idiazabal …

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

Arzúa-Ulloa

From the lush pastures of Galicia, Spain, Arzúa-Ulloa is crafted from the milk of local cows. This soft, creamy cheese has a mild, slightly salty taste and a smooth, supple texture, making it excellent for melting. It is often used …

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

Queso Manchego

Manchego is a PDO-protected cheese made in the La Mancha region of Spain, exclusively from the milk of Manchega sheep. It has a firm and compact consistency and a buttery texture, with a distinctive flavor that is well-developed and tangy, …

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

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

Mahón-Menorca

Mahón-Menorca is a cow's milk cheese from the island of Menorca in the Balearic Islands. It has a square shape with rounded edges and is known for its orange rind and soft to hard texture depending on age. The flavor …

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

Queso Tetilla

Queso Tetilla is a matured cheese from Galicia, Spain, made from the milk of Friesian, Brown Alpine, and Rubia Gallega cows. It has a distinctive conical or convex-conical shape and weighs between 0.5 and 1.5 kg. The cheese has a …

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

Torta del Casar

Torta del Casar is a rich, creamy cheese from Extremadura in Spain, named after the town of Casar de Cáceres. It is made from sheep's milk and has a very creamy, almost liquid interior, with a strong, slightly bitter taste. …

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

Queso de Valdeón

Queso de Valdeón is a full-fat blue cheese from Posada de Valdeón in León, Spain. It is made from raw or pasteurized cow’s milk or a mixture of cow’s, sheep’s, and goat’s milk, using lactic acid and enzymatic coagulation. The …

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

Cabrales

Cabrales is a strong, pungent blue cheese from the Asturias region in northern Spain. It is traditionally made from a mixture of raw cow's, goat’s, and sheep's milk that is aged in natural limestone caves, facilitating the development of its …

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Cow's milk
Texture: Crumbly, open paste
Flavor: Intense, piquant

Queso Garrotxa

Formatge Garrotxa is a traditional goat’s milk cheese from Catalonia, Spain, recognized under the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) system. It is made exclusively from whole goat’s milk using the mixed curdling technique. The cheese has a regular cylindrical shape with …

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

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

Roncal

Roncal is a hard, sheep's milk cheese from the Roncal Valley in the Navarre region of Spain. It has a firm texture and a rich, buttery flavor with nutty undertones. Aged for several months, Roncal develops a pronounced sharpness and …

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

Afuega'l Pitu

Afuega'l Pitu is among the oldest Spanish cheeses, originating from Asturias. It is known for its striking red or orange rind and a spicy, tangy flavor profile. This cheese can be made from either pasteurized or unpasteurized cow's milk and …

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 Zamorano

Zamorano is a hard cheese from the Zamora province in Spain, made from sheep's milk. It resembles Manchego but is made using the milk of the Churra and Castellana sheep breeds. Zamorano has a rich, nutty flavor and a slightly …

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

Queso de La Serena

Queso de la Serena is a soft to semi-hard cheese made from the milk of Merino sheep in the province of Badajoz, Spain. It is a full-fat to extra full-fat cheese with a firm rind and a soft to firm …

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

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 Murcia

Queso de Murcia is a traditional Spanish cheese made exclusively from the milk of Murcian goats. It is produced in the Murcia region and comes in two varieties: "Queso de Murcia fresco" (fresh) and "Queso de Murcia curado" (cured). The …

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)

Queso Palmero

Queso Palmero, also known as Queso de La Palma, is a traditional cheese from La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain. Made exclusively from the milk of La Palma goats, the cheese reflects the island's rich grazing pastures and centuries-old …

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

Gamonedo

Gamonedo is a blue cheese from the Asturias region in northern Spain. It is unique due to its dual-smoking and blue-mold maturation process, giving it a distinct smoky flavor with spicy blue veins. The cheese is typically aged for several …

Country: Spain
Milk Type: Raw cow’s, sheep’s, and goat’s milk, or any combination. Breeds: Friesian, Asturiana de los Valles, etc.
Flavor: Buttery, slightly nutty

Queso de Burgos

Queso de Burgos is a fresh cheese from the province of Burgos, Spain. It is made from a blend of whole, fresh, and pasteurized cow’s and sheep’s milk, with different types distinguished by the percentage of sheep’s milk used. The …

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

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