Mixed-Milk Cheeses

• More than 50% of the cheese produced and eaten in Spain is made of cows´, goats´ and sheeps´ milks. The varying proportions used in the blend will determine the cheese’s attributes: taste, creaminess, body & texture. Typically they are made into cylindrical shapes with the rind showing a traditional esparto pattern.

• A glance at the window or display counter of any cheese shop will confirm that this type of cheese makes up about half the stock, alongside other more clearly identifiable cheeses, both Spanish and foreign. The price range spans the middle segment of the market.

• Cows’ milk is the base ingredient of blended-milk cheeses, with goat’s and sheep’s milk being added in varying proportions according to the attributes desired in the final product. The rule of thumb is the more cow’s milk it contains, the simpler and cheaper the cheese will be while the opposite is true of sheep’s milk. Milk blending allows the skilled cheese maker to enhance and impart character in the flavor to approach what most consumers like and want.

• Generally speaking, cows’ milk provides most of the mass, flavor and desired acidity level in this type of cheese. Goats’ milk contributes whiteness (cow’s milk gives a yellow hue) and mildly zesty and tart flavor. Sheep’s milk incresases flavor, richness and butteriness; since it is rich in dry extract and fat content. The more sheep’s milk in the cheese, the better the cheese.

• With a wish to establish some order in this enormous cheese industry, Spain’s cheese-producers and the Ministry of Agriculture set regulations and quality standards to govern three types of blended-milk cheese: Hispánico, Ibérico and Mesta. These standards were implemented with legislation in July 1987. The Hispánico is made exclusively from sheep’s milk ( a minimum of 30% by volume) and cows’ milk ( a minimum of 50% by volume), with a minimum 55% of dry extract/ 45 % fat content. Ibérico is made with a blend of three types of milk: cow’s (a minimum of 50%), goat’s (a minimum of 30%) and sheep’s (a minimum of 10%). Dry extract and fat content/ dry extract stipulations are similar to those of Hispánico. Mesta is made with ewes’ milk ( a minimum of 75%) cows’ ( a minimum of 15%) and optionally goats’ ( up to a maximum of 5%), with minimum dry extract at 55% and fat content / dry extract at a minimum of 50%, given the high fat content of ewes’ milk. 

• Of the three types, Ibérico is the best known, most widely produced, and most purchased in Spain. This cheese is the one most people have tried and typifies the blended milk cheese, which is literally known as "mixed- milk cheese".

• The mix of different milks depends on various factors, and proportions also vary even with the season. There are cheeses with no mix in a regular basis, and only seasonally use a small mix. The map shows the most representative of the cheeses that can use a mix of milks.
  
  

• Cheeses with mix of Cows´, Ewes´ and Goats´ milks: ( In Black, 1 to 10)
  1 - Cabrales 
  2 - Ahumado de Aliva 
  3 - Pido 
  4 - Picon 
  5 - Quesucos de Liebana 
  6 - Genestoso 
  7 - Gamonedo 
  8 - Peñamellera 
  9 - Tenerife 
  10 - Herreño

• Cheeses with mix of Ewes´ and Goats´ milks: ( In Red, 11 to 18)
  11 - Casín 
  12 - Tronchón 
  13 - Casoleta 
  14 - Servilleta 
  15 - La Nucia 
  16 - La Calahorra 
  17 - Grazalema 
  18 - La Gomera

• Cheeses with mix of Cows´ and Goats´ milks: (In Blue, 19 to 21)
  19 - Beyos 
  20 - Mato 
  21 - Armada 

• Cheeses with mix of Cows´ and Ewes´ milks: ( In Green, 22 to 27)
  22 - Porrua 
  23 - Villalón 
  24 - Burgos 
  25 - Ansó-Hecho 
  26 - Malloquín 
  27 - Flor de Guía