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The Portuguese have been making
cheese for centuries, drawing on cheese-making skills learned from
the Romans. Cheese or 'queijo' plays a large part of the Portuguese
diet.
Portugal has a huge range of
cheeses, which are equal to some of the world's best, and are
produced the length of breadth of the country. There is a
great variety of regional cheeses, made from goat, sheep and cows'
milk, many of which are still handmade.
A D.O.P. label guarantees it was made in it's traditional area.
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The king of all the regional
cheeses though has to be the aromatic Serra de Estrela, which was
traditionally made by shepherds. The cheese, which is wrapped in
cotton, is made using milk from sheep, which have grazed on
the wild mountain herbs. It has a soft, spreadable texture mainly
because it isn't matured very long.
Azeitão
is a crumbly sheep's milk cheese from the Estramadura region of
Portugal and is name protected.
Azeitão,
is also swathed in cheesecloth and has an earthy, creamy taste. Queijo da Ilha is an elaborate cheese
which was originally made in the Acores from cow's milk and has a
strong, hard consistency. Flamengo for all intents and purposes is a
copy of the Dutch Edam. It has the same red wax rind and is a hard
cheese. |
