Kitchen Dictionary: Spanish cheese

Tetilla~ Milky, buttery, slightly sharp and mildly salty, this cheese melts beautifully. It is recognizable by it's distinctive "Hershey's Kiss" shape.

Mahon~ From the Balearic isle of Menorca comes this versatile cheese. Massaged with olive oil and pimenton to keep it soft and fragrant, this buttery sharp and nutty cheese goes from slicing to grating with ease.

Manchego~ is a famous Spanish Cheese. Manchega sheep graze in Albacete, Civdad Real, Cuenca and Toledo to provide milk for this slightly piquant cheese. Dry on the palate with a lingering aftertaste.

Zamorano~ Made from raw Churra and Castellana sheep's milk from the plateau of Castilla-Leonesa, it is intensely flavorful yet gentle on the palate. Salty, piquant and buttery while sharp and rich!

Majorero~ born and raised from remote Fueteventura in the Canary Islands, this acidic, slightly piquant and buttery cheese is served as a dessert with guava paste or quince jelly.

Idiazabal~ This Basque cheese is made from the unpasturized milk of Lacha and Carranza sheep. It is rich and firm with an outstanding hardwood-smoked flavor that is pronounced yet gentle.

Cantabria~ This fresh cheese from Northern Spain displays flavors of fresh cream with an edgy tang. Rather sweet-tart and smooth, it blends easily into recipes.

Queso Ibores~ Unpasteurized milk from the Serrana, Verata and Retinta goats of Extremadura create this direct, creamy and buttery cheese.

Roncal~ Passed from father to son, this cheese's traditional production methods are a well-guarded secret. Well-developed it is made only with milk from the Rasa and Lacha flocks of the Rohncal Valley in Navarra.

Murcia al Vino~ This goat's milk cheese is made from the native Murcia breed, said to be the best milk producing goat in Spain. Murcia al Vino is smooth, slightly acidic and salty. Washing in red wine results in the distinctive violet rind.

De la Serena~ This Merino sheep's milk cheese hails from Extremadurs. It is buttery, thick and spreadable with full flavor and an underlying tartness. To serve remove the top rind and spoon out.

Alt Urgell Y la Cerdanya~ Surprisingly versatile for cooking, this creamy, semisoft cheese is from the Pyrnees. It has a biting fruity aroma reminiscent of toasted dried fruits.

Cabrales~ Complex, intense and piquant, Cabrales is an artful blend of milks, ripened in the caves of mountainous easters Asturias.

Contributed by DiB's

plural: Spanish cheeses

Ingredient

Season: available year-round