DESCRIPTION:This creamy cheese from Extremadura is acidic with a pleasant sharpness in more mature pieces. It is circular and has a hard rind. It may well be the most expensive Spanish cheese on the market. It is notable for being a “torta”. The semi-liquid interior forces the sides of the cheeses, giving it the cracks that characterize it. From them, a light, fermented smell emanates. Its color is ivory yellow. Its creamy and spreadable texture are discovered with a wooden spoon.

PRODUCT HISTORY:Since this is an eminently artesian product, the most traditional methods have always been followed. It has always been known for its scarcity, thus its higher price. It is interesting to note that in the past this cheese was used as a means of payment. Numerous documents attest to the fact that it was used to pay taxes back in the times of the Mesta (the association of sheep and cattle farmers). These taxes were used to finance the military protection of the lands of Extremadura from the Moors.

PRODUCTION PROCESS:The sheep freely graze for months and months until, once the time to make the cheeses arrives, they are taken to graze on certain, predetermined lands. All great artesian cheeses have their optimum production period. Once the liquid from two daily milkings has been collected, it is heated to some 25ºC (77ºF). It is curdled with wild thistle and the curd is broken up by hand to obtain small pieces, almost like a puree. It is left to settle and is decanted. The traditional mold which gives the cheese its shape is an esparto belt which will give a pattern in the rind. It is salted on both sides as the belt is removed. Afterward, the cheeses are placed on a bed of sticks, whose pattern will be reflected on both sides of the wheel. There is where a long, silent curing process begins and perhaps where the cheese is miraculously converted into a torta.