Manchego!

As promised, here is the second post of the day!  Today’s cheese is one that I purchased on my trip to Boushey’s Fruit Market last Friday.  And if you haven’t read that post, go ahead and do so now… yes, now.  We’ll wait.  Yes, I know some people have already read that one.  They can wait here.  Or better yet, go read it again.  Or think about this…  What’s orange and sounds like a parrot?  Oh look, they’re back, guess you’ll have to wait for the answer.

Today’s cheese is a Spanish cheese called Manchego.  It is another cheese imported by Agropur and is part of its Agropur Import Collection.  It is a firm, ripened cheese made from sheep’s milk and is aged between 60 days and 2 years.  The particular one I bought was aged 3 months.

Other requirements for cheese to be labeled Manchego are:

• It must have been produced in an area that is restricted to designated parts of the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca and Toledo that lie within the La Mancha region.
• It can be made only with the whole milk of sheep of the manchega breed that are raised on registered farms within the designated area.
• The cheese must have been aged for a minimum of 60 days and a maximum of two years.
• The cheese must be produced by pressing in a cylindrical mould that has a maximum height of 12 cm and a maximum diameter of 22 cm.

Also, be aware that the rind is not edible.  So don’t eat it!

This is the first sheep’s milk cheese that I’ve had and I have to say that I found it to be rather pleasant.  A word I’ve heard used to describe it is creamy and I think that applies quite well here.  It’s definitely creamy and doesn’t have very much of an aftertaste.  Overall, I don’t think it has enough flavour to eat it on its own or even just with crackers.  However, if you were to grate it and serve it on pasta, I think that would be a welcome addition to a dish.  I would also try it in a caesar salad instead of parmesan. A solid choice that I would also incorporate into a cheese tray for a party to give it a little variety and exotic flair.

By the way, the answer is carrot.

Stay cheesy!

Captain Cheese