Who Made My Cheese?

Yes, there really are windmills in La Mancha, the plateau region south of Madrid. And there are sheep – lots of specially bred Manchega sheep, whose milk is used to make the Manchego cheese for which the region is known the world over. Little wonder, then, that when Cervantes wrote Don Quixote, he made several mentions of Manchego.

Manchego is the best known Spanish cheese, both inside and outside of Spain. It is semi-firm, with a flavor that is reminiscent of Feta, although not as salty. Many other parts of the world have created knockoffs of Manchego, but the real deal comes only from the La Mancha region, and is carefully protected by a regulation and certification system that is similar to the "DOC" process used for wines.

True Manchego pairs beautifully with fruit, nuts, Rioja or Merlot wine, and both sweet and savory tapas. It has been produced by inhabitants of the La Mancha region since ancient times, with few changes to the process. Due to the unique nature of the soil, dry climate and rustic, flat topography, the native vegetation is unlike that in any other part of the world – and it imparts unique characteristics to the milk of the Manchega sheep.

How it's Made

The process starts by milking the sheep in the milking rooms. The milk is immediately filtered and refrigerated at 4 degrees Celsius.

At this point it is still a liquid, and it gets poured into large vats, where it is curdled using natural rennet or other coagulating enzymes. This turns the milk into a semi-solid, with roughly the consistency of a block of semi-firm tofu. The curd is then cut repeatedly until there is a grain of 5-10mm. Then the mass is shaken and heated again in a double boiler to eliminate the whey – sort of a milk plasma that itself has numerous commercial uses.

The curd is then put into cylindrical molds, where it is covered by textured cloth that imprints the unique herringbone pattern into the rind. This pattern is reminiscent of the one created in ancient times by shepherds who used wooden boards and esparto grass sheaths.

It is then pressed, where the casein seal is applied, stamping the cheese with its unique Denomination of Origin identification – essentially, a seal and serial number.

The cheese is then immersed in brine and sent to maturing rooms, where it is aged for three months or more.

The Denomination of Origin certification personnel carry out periodic inspections to check that all of the Manchego products comply with the specifications authorized by the European Union. Samples also go to labs for microbiological analysis, as well as to a tasting panel that does a "sensorial analysis" to check for the ideal taste, smell, appearance, texture. If it doesn't pass the sniff test, literally and figuratively, it is removed from the production process – and the sheep have to go back to work.

It's an awful lot of effort to go through for a block of cheese. But the Manchego producers are not merely tilting at windmills. They have a world class product, lovingly made and salted with tradition. They want to ensure that every time you take a bite of Manchego, you will be transported back to the land of La Mancha.

from the April, 2010 edition of Fresh Off the Press