Serpa Cheese

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Serpa is a rich, creamy sheep’s milk cheese from the Alentejo region in Portugal. It is a semi-soft cheese with a slightly piquant taste and a buttery texture, encased in a natural rind washed in olive oil and paprika during aging. Serpa is typically enjoyed as a table cheese, often paired with fresh bread.

What is Serpa Cheese?

Serpa is a traditional Portuguese cheese with a protected designation of origin (PDO). It is manufactured in a legally bounded area of Serpa and Beja counties, in Alentejo, the largest and driest province of inland Portugal. Serpa is one of the most genuinely crafted and high-quality cheeses from Portugal, although nowadays some cheese is also produced on a semi-industrial scale.

Origin

The origin of this unique cheese is lost in time, but it is believed to have started when shepherds moved to Alentejo from nearby regions, as part of a search for fresh pastures for their sheep flocks. Like Serra de Estrela cheese and other traditional Portuguese cheeses, Serpa cheese is obtained from raw ewe’s milk to which an aqueous extract of dried cardoon flowers (Cynara cardunculus L.) has been added as coagulant.

Production Process

In artisanal processing, fresh milk is heated to 95°F (35°C) and filtered through white wool blankets to remove any foreign materials. Then 32 ounces salt/13 gallons milk (approximately 900 grams salt/50 liters milk) and vegetal coagulant are added under gentle stirring. The resulting curd is stirred vigorously, with the help of a wooden stick, to produce a smooth grainy mass—that is pressed by hand, molded, and left to rest for some time before being placed in a maturation room. Cheeses are carefully unmolded on the following day, and turned every day for eight to ten days—besides washing with warm milk whey. A white cotton cloth is then placed around the cheese to avoid degradation of the rind and the delicate texture, and the cheese is transferred to a warmer and drier room for an extra thirty to forty-five days of ripening.

Characteristics

Serpa cheese possesses a pleasant semisoft texture, buttery, yellowish paste, and a distinctive flavor, almost fermented, with balanced sweet and bitter notes. The cheese is cylindrical, and may be marketed in four regular sizes, ranging from 4–12 inches (10–30 centimeters) in diameter. Their rich adventitious microflora is dominated by such genera as Leuconostoc and Lactococcus—known for their strongly proteolytic features.

Consumption

Serpa cheese may be enjoyed both as a dessert or as an appetizer, and may be served with red wines or Flemish beers and artisanal wheat bread.

Key Facts About Serpa Cheese

Country of Origin Portugal
Specific Origin Serpa and Beja, Alentejo
Certification PDO (1996)
Milk Type Raw ewe’s milk
Milk Treatment Heated to 95°F
Texture Semisoft
Flavor Almost fermented, sweet and bitter
Colors Yellowish
Forms Cylindrical, 4–12 inches diameter
Age 30 to 45 days extra ripening
Rennet Type Dried cardoon flowers