Queso de Cantabria (Queso de Nata de Catabria, Cantabria's Creamy Cheese) comes from the Cantabrian sea coastal region of Cantabria, in Northern Spain (Vizcaya Gulf). Before obtaining the Denomination of Origin it was only known as Queso de Nata.
It's name, crreamy cheese perfectly defines the qualities of this cheese. Soft, it almost melts in your mouth, leaving smooth flavors of cream cheese but with a delicious distincrtive bitter point.
The first references to this cheese com from 1647, when the first regulations to the proffessional trading of cheese were established.

  "Protected Denomination of Origin" (D.O.P.)

Origin

The cheese is produced thoughout all the Comunity of Cantabria, in the central Cantabrian Coast ot northern Spain.

Characteristics

-Type of milk: Pasteurized milk fom Frisona cows.
-Shape: Either cylinder, or cube-shaped, with six sides over a rectangular base.
-Weight: from 0.5 to 3kg (1 to 6 pounds)
-Fat Content: 45%
-Flavor: very smooth, bewteen sweet and bitter, and very buttery, it melts in the mouth.

It is a soft cheese, that needs an aging time of no less that a week, usually between two weeks a dn two months. The resulting cheese have a flat and waxy rind, of a bright yellow color. The meat is solid, without holes, or with very few small scatteded holes, an elastic texture and a pale yellow color.

Uses

It is a soft cheese, easy to melt, perfect for stuffings. In Cantabria it is often used in fish dishes, as well as with chicken, or filling soups and stews. The best company for the cheese are thick breads, and the recommeded wines to dink with the cheese are red crianzas not very astringent.