Queso Camerano

Queso Camerano is a traditional goat’s milk cheese from La Rioja, Spain. It has a compact and firm texture with minimal fissures, and its color ranges from white to slightly marbled. The cheese is made using natural rennet of goat origin and comes in small cylindrical shapes with a distinctive lattice pattern from the ‘cilla’ mold. It is available in different aging stages: fresh, soft (aged at least 15 days), semi-cured (30 days), and cured (75 days). Fresh and soft varieties have no rind, while semi-cured and cured versions develop a rind with some mold. The cheese has a mild, slightly acidic flavor that intensifies with aging, developing musty and whey-like notes. The aroma varies from lactic and grassy to musty, depending on the age. It is deeply linked to La Rioja’s natural pastures and traditional cheesemaking heritage.

El Pantera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Key Facts

Country of Origin	Spain
Specific Origin	La Rioja (Rioja Alta, Sierra Rioja Alta, Sierra Rioja Media, Sierra de Rioja Baja, and other specified municipalities)
Protection	PDO (2009)
Milk Type	Goat
Milk Treatment	Pasteurized (for fresh, soft, and semi-cured); raw or pasteurized (for cured)
Fat Content	Minimum 35% (in solid content)
Rind	None (fresh, soft); defined with mold (semi-cured, cured)
Texture	Soft to semi-soft (fresh, soft); semi-hard to hard (semi-cured, cured)
Flavor	Mild, slightly acidic (fresh); stronger, slightly salty, musty (aged)
Aroma	Lactic, grassy (fresh); musty, aged whey (semi-cured, cured)
Colors	White to slightly marbled
Forms	Small cylindrical cakes
Age	Fresh (0 days), Soft (15+ days), Semi-cured (30+ days), Cured (75+ days)
Rennet Type	Animal