Idiazabal

What is Idiazabal Cheese?

Idiazabal is made in the Basque Country, above all on the Spanish side, and takes its name from the town of Idiazabal in the Goierri region of Gipuzkoa. The milk comes from Latxa sheep, and the Denomination of Origin also allows Carranzana milk from the Encartaciones in Biscay. Cheeses made in Urbia, Entzia, Gorbea, Orduña, Urbasa and Aralar fall under the same D.O. when they follow its rules. Some farmers have recently turned to hybrid Assaf sheep, which others argue falls outside the D.O. In October 1993 the International Academy of Gastronomy awarded it a Gold Medal as one of the best cheeses in Europe.

The cheese uses whole unpasteurized sheep's milk with at least 6% fat. Natural lamb curd sets the milk at 25 to 35 °C (77 to 95 °F), and a compact curd forms in 30 to 45 minutes. It is cut to grains the size of rice and reheated to 34 to 38 °C (93 to 100 °F), or 40 to 45 °C (104 to 113 °F) when coagulation ran hotter. The drained paste goes into molds and is pressed, then salted with dry salt rubbed on the rind or a 24 hour bath in heavily salted brine. Aging lasts at least two months in cold, humid rooms kept free of mold. Smoking, when it happens, comes last, over beech, birch, cherry or white pine.

Most wheels are cylindrical, though some are cone shaped or octagonal, and each weighs between 0.9 and 1.8 kg (2 to 4 lb). The rind is closed, waxy and free of mold, and artisan makers sometimes engrave it with Basque motifs. Unsmoked cheeses are yellow-beige, smoked ones brownish. Inside, the paste is compact and beige to pale yellow, with no holes or only pinhead ones, and smoked cheeses show a brown band under the rind. The taste is strong and pronounced, slightly acidic and piquant, buttery, with a clear sheep's milk character. Smoked versions run drier and stronger.

Young Idiazabal is eaten fresh, often with quince jam. Longer aging turns it firm, dry and sharp, at which point it works well grated.