Goats´milk Cheeses: The Aroma of the Mediterranean

• In Spain, the goat is commonly referred to as the poor man’s cow. This reflects the characteristics of this independent, serviceable and often considered crazy animal, but one which has accompanied shepherds in Spain for centuries.

• The dairy cow and its products are a modern reality, dating back only to the first half of this century. Previously, it was quite normal to see the herds of goats cross the small Spanish towns and villages. As they went through town, the shepherd and his wife stopped to milk the goats, right there in the street, for the customers. With the milk that was left over, fresh cheese was made, which was sold afterwards from door to door or at the local farmers market.

• Each rural family had its own herd of goats which supplied them with milk and cheese, replacing cows milk, which some consider is more difficult to digest. 
  The goat is the typical Mediterranean animal, accustomed to the hot and dry climate. 
  There are numerous breeds and cross-breeds. However three stand out for their milk producing specialization: the Murcia-Granada, the Malaga and the Canary Islands strains.

• The Fresh Cheeses.

  • Historically the Mediterranean coast has been a densely populated region, with an industrious tradition in the fields of agriculture, commerce & craftsmanship. Milk and cheese production was intended for immediate local consumption by an enormous artisan population, which depended upon the nearby resources. This situation is reflected in the cheeses, it wasn’t necessary to cure them for long periods of time. They were consumed either fresh or after being well aired for one or two weeks. These cheeses were rather small, fresh, humid, sweet and milky cheeses, which were eaten in no time at all.

  • In Catalonia, we find the typical Mató, which is an unsalted cheese, produced and consumed the same day, as a dessert or snack served with sugar, honey, anisette, dry fruit or jams.

  • In the Levante region, we find 4 very characteristic fresh cheeses. The Cassoleta, the Servilleta or Tovalló, the cheese of Nucía and the fresh cheese of Alicante. The Cassoleta looks like a volcano due to the wooden mold shaped like a cone in its central section. They are very small cheeses, and they are profusely decorated with floral or linear motifs. They are also known as Saladito on the Valencian market, because they are distributed in large jars, immersed in salmuera (brine) and desalted before consumption.

  • The Servilleta (literally napkin in english) or Tovalló, in catalan, is made on the Costera de Ranes, south of Valencia. As it’s name suggests, it is molded in cloths which are knotted and slightly compressed, to give it a spherical shape. 

  • The Nucía cheese takes its name from this small town on the Alicante coast. It is a fresh, gelatinous and very smooth cheese which is also known as "cheese cake". 
    And finally, the Blanquito cheese of Alicante or Blanquet in Catalan, is prepared mainly in the Upper Vinaloppo Valley. It is a small cheese that weighs around half a kilo and has a flat cylindrical shape. 

• Heading South.

  • In the south, the cloth and ceramic molds disappear and the esparto-grass girth emerges, which gives all the cheeses their typical cylindrical shape and engraves the rounded sides with the characteristic zig-zag marking.

  • In the first place we find the fresh cheese of Murcia, which is widely produced and consumed in this regional community. It is usually made and consumed in a period of a week, mainly as tapas or snacks in bars. The artisan factories in the mountainous area of Murcia have developed two types of cured goat cheese. These are the cured Murcia cheeses and the Murcia wine cheese. Both are soft, have a fresh texture and a creamy, acidic flavor. The cured Murcia is similar in shape and flavor to a soft Manchego, while the wine variation is softer and smaller. During its curing period, the rind is rubbed with red wine from Yecla or Jumilla.

  • There are many artisan cheese factories in all Andalucía, from Almeria to Huelva, which produce fresh pressed, pure goat cheeses. They have a cylindrical shape similar to the Manchego cheese, but they are flatter and smaller. The flat side is usually striped or decorated with floral or zoomorphic motifs. In the high mountainous regions of Almería, Málaga, Cádiz and Sevilla you find the major production regions.

• Time for Curing.

  • The very same cheese factories, which produce fresh, also produce cured cheeses. Many of them preserve these cheeses in olive oil. A characteristic specialty of Andalusian goat cheese.

  • Among these cured cheeses, several famous ones stand out. From the Ronda mountain range (Málaga), the cheese of Albox or that of Filabres (Almería), the one of Grazalema (Cádiz) or the famous Aracena cheese (Huelva mountain range).

  • In Extremadura, you will find the cheese of Los Ibores (northeastern Cáceres). It is a small, cylindrical cheese, which you can find in three types of rinds: natural, oily, and paprika.

  • Similar to Ibores other cheeses are those of Siberia, Las Hurdes, Fregenal de la Sierra, etc. Among them, one stands out due to its great originality, the Quesailla, exclusively of artisan production, during winter and spring in limited quantities.

  • Through out Asturias, we find certain varieties of goat cheese of small size and a mixed lactic coagulation. These are well known at local markets, they are the Beyos cheese, produced in the mountains with the same name, also the Peñamellera and Rozagas cheeses. 

  • In the mountains of Toledo, bordering Extremadura or in the El Tietar valley (Avila), the goat cheese produced has strong influences from neighboring Extremadura cheeses; this is the result of wandering goatherds that spend the summer in these central Spanish mountain ranges.

  • From the mountain range of Camarano, located between La Rioja and Soria, we find its namesake cheese, considered an anthropological relic. It’s a small fresh cheese with a charming shape (that of a braided wicker basket), which reflect the mold used to make it.

  • Finally on the island of Ibiza, in the Mediterranean, fresh goat cheese is made, with a sweet and milky taste, used to make flaó, a fresh cheese cake flavored with mint. 

• The Requeson or Cottage Cheese.

  • Requesón or cottage cheese, is the protein extract obtained by the precipitation through heat (85ºC , that is 185ºF) in an acidic media of the soluble proteins which remain in the whey.

  • It is then, a by-product of the cheese making process. In the case of the goat’s milk a third of the proteins are of a lacto-albumen and lacto-globulin type, which remain in the whey.

  • Requesón is not considered a real cheese, however it is eaten as such. It has a granulated texture and a sandy palate, the flavor is lightly sweet and it is usually served as a dessert or snack.

  • Requesón has different names in Spain; it is called nazurón in Extremadura, brossat in Catalonia, brullo in Castellon and gaztanbera in the Basque Country. 

• The Canary Islands.

  • These islands, just of the west coast of Africa, have a long standing tradition of goat-breeding, with corresponding production and consumption of their own fresh and cured goat cheese.

  • They produce around 8,000 tons of cheeses annually, all of it made of raw goat’s milk from the Canary Island goat breed. All are pressed and have an eminently enzymatic coagulation. Usually they come in large cylindrical format, with a rhomboidal engraving.

  • On the island of Hierro a fresh sweet and fatty cheese is made, mostly used to prepare a typical dessert named the quesadilla, a spongy cake with cheese base. 
    On la Palma, the cheese is smoked on the outside over a fire of almond shells. On la Gomera, it is left to cure, until almost rancid and then it is grated to prepare a typical sauce named "the almogrote," which is served with "the papas arrugadas" a Canary island specialty. 

  • In Fuerteventura, they make the best goat cheese of the islands: the Majorero. A highly pressed cheese with a long period of curing, it has a well developed but smooth flavor. And finally, on Lanzarote, the Conejero cheese is made which you can find in three types of rinds: natural, oily, and paprika or with gofio (toasted wheat or corn flour) which gives it a very characteristic aroma. 
    
    Map: Javier Belloso 
    Goat's milk cheeses:
    1 - Cataluña: Mato, Montsec o Cendrat, Garrotxa o Pell Florida.
    2 - Levante: Casoletta, Nuncia, Servilleta o Tovallo, Fresco de Alicante.
    3 - Murcia: Fresco de Murcia, curado y al vino.
    4 - Andalucía: Ronda, Albox o de los Fibrales, Grazalema, Aracena.
    5 - Extremadura: Los Ibores, La Siberia,Las Hurdes, Fregenal, Acehuche, Quesailla.
    6 - Asturias: Beyos, Peñamellera, Rozagas.
    7 - León: Valdeteja, Babia, Laciana.
    8 - Rioja: Cameros.
    9 - Ibiza: Fresco.
    10 - Islas Canarias: El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Majorero, Conejero.