Queso de Valdeón

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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 cousin Cabrales.

Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Key Facts

Country of Origin	Spain
Specific Origin	Posada de Valdeón, León
Protection	PGI (2003)
Milk Type	Cow’s, or a mix of cow’s, sheep’s, and goat’s milk
Milk Treatment	Raw or pasteurized
Fat Content	≥ 45% (of dry matter)
Moisture Content	≥ 30%
Rind	Natural, thin, yellowish-gray
Texture	Low elasticity, crumbly, melts in the mouth
Flavor	Intense, salty, piquant, lightly ardent
Aroma	Lightly acidic or lactic in semi-ripe cheese; persistent moldy scent when aged
Colors	Ivory to cream-colored paste with greenish-blue veins
Forms	Cylindrical, slightly concave surfaces
Age	Minimum 2 months (raw milk), 1 month (pasteurized milk)
Alternative Spellings	Queisu de Valdión (Leonese)
Also Known As	Valdeon

What is Queso de Valdeón?

Queso de Valdeón is a blue cheese from León, in Spain. It is made in Posada de Valdeón, in the northeast of the province, and is known in Leonese as Queisu de Valdión. The cheese holds PGI status.

Cheesemaking in the Valdeón valley goes back to pre-Roman times, when goat's milk was the raw material. By the 19th century it was one of the main occupations in the area. Cattle grazed the high-altitude sheepfolds through the summer, and their milk was turned into cheese in the cabins up there or carried down to the villages of the valley.

Strong natural barriers close off the valley, which gives it a microclimate of its own. That microclimate favors the microbial flora that defines these cheeses.

The flavor is very intense and clearly blue, but it is neither as yellowed nor as biting as that of its cousin Cabrales. Before the cheese goes to market it is wrapped in sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) or chestnut leaves.