“When I found out there was a place in the world called the Land of Cheese,” recalls food and travel writer Danielle Pergament, “it was like the great cheese mothership calling me home.” The region that boasts this nickname is Asturias, one of Spain’s autonomous communities on the Northern coast.
While there is much diversity of product in Asturias, the most highly regarded cheese is the queso de cabrales. This particular variety is made in the artisan tradition—it is manufactured by hand, and ripened naturally so as to be more complex in taste than mass- produced cheeses. Only after it has been aged for two to six months in the cool, humid limestone caves of the region does it acquire the color, taste and scent that has made it infamous.
The organic conditions of these caves yield penicillium molds, the blue-green veins for which “blue cheese” is named after. Mold and bacteria are also responsible for the pungent scent. If you can see (or smell) past these conspicuous traits, then you will enjoy the unique, pleasingly sharp taste of this cheese: pair it with fresh fruit and a sweet wine for a satisfying Mediterranean dessert!
Of course if penicillium doesn’t strike your fancy, a trip to La Mancha is in order. Many will recognize this region as home to the legendary literary figure Don Quixote, knight-errant and romantic dreamer. Long before Don Quixote was fighting windmills, however, farmers were squeezing milk from the Manchega sheep and cultivating what is now the best-known cheese in Spain.
Like cabrales, queso manchego is also aged caves, but the final result is a completely different cheese; manchego has a firmer, milder flavor, with consistent color and texture throughout. The inside of a perfect manchego should be white (young) to ivory (older), and the paste should appear smooth with a few hollows. Jamón Serrano, Andalusian olives, or crackers and membrillo are commonly served alongside a plate of this cheese, balanced by a healthy glass of crianza!
http://www.ilovecheese.co.uk/manchego.html
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/travel/23explorer.html
