Ribafria is a wonderfully zesty gourmet cheese produced in Torres Vedras. This aged semi-hard goat’s milk cheese is literally encrusted in black peppercorns for a flavor that is piquant and pungent. Produced in Torres Vedras, Ribafria is rather spicy and makes an assertive statement on the palate and is better if you rub the peppercorns off before serving.The cheese is excellent when paired with a strong red wine or portuguese marmelada sweet (quince paste) for a pleasant contrast.
4/6/08
Saloio Cheese
A small unsalted firm fresh cheese, always served in the cylindrical molds (cinchos) used in making it, about 5 cm in diameter and 6 cm high. This cheese is often served as an appetizer with a little salt.In some restaurants in and around Lisbon, it is usual to offer these cheeses as an hors d'oeuvre. They're produced in the region between Lisbon and Sintra and can also be found cured.
In the old days, farm wives from around the capital would go door to door two or three times a week to sell their products which they transported in attractive rattan baskets with two flap lids.
Requeijão Cheese
Requeijao is produced from whey, the residue of cheese production.
About 10% whole milk is added to the whey and the mixture is heated (hence the Italian name ricotta, meaning recooked), and skimmed. The skimmed thin cream is placed into round wicker baskets and drained. This produces the requeijao, literally "re-cheese", low in fat and according to local tradition, it may be served with honey, pumpkin jam, or merely sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.The best known requeijao is from Serra da Estrela, followed by that from the Saloios region near Lisbon.
About 10% whole milk is added to the whey and the mixture is heated (hence the Italian name ricotta, meaning recooked), and skimmed. The skimmed thin cream is placed into round wicker baskets and drained. This produces the requeijao, literally "re-cheese", low in fat and according to local tradition, it may be served with honey, pumpkin jam, or merely sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.The best known requeijao is from Serra da Estrela, followed by that from the Saloios region near Lisbon.
Amarelo da Beira Baixa Cheese (DOP)
This is a raw sheep and goat milk cheese from Portugal's Beira Baixa region, located between Portugal's central mountains and the Spanish border. Made with animal rennet, Amarelo has a yellowish paste and small irregular holes; its texture ranges from semi-soft to firm. The flavor of this artisan cheese reflects its homeland: rugged and rustic with a hint of Portugal's sea salt.Not a cheese for the faint of heart, Amarelo has a distinctive aroma
and a forceful, buttery flavor. Along with its piquancy, the cheese parts with a pleasant sensation. Grassy overtones of sheep's milk develop as they linger, leaving you with the desire to take another bite. Pair Amarelo with Pinot Noir or other, spicier reds that can bring out the rich, earthy flavors of the milk.
Mestiço de Tolosa Cheese (IGP)
This is a IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) status cheese made of goat and sheep milk, separated and filtered through a cloth, made in proper rates in cheese-dairy. The production is artisan, such as in other cured cheeses in our country. It is a cured half-soft cheese of average dimensions. Tolosa cheese has wrinkled, fine, entire crust, sometimes lightly oily, of yellow or orange constant colour. The diameter varies between 7 and 10 cm, height between 3 and 4 cm and weight between 150 and 400 g, with regular shape, well defined outline, soft and firm consistency with tympanic sound. The pulp is well joined, slightly closed, with small eyes, of yellow or orange colour. Taste and scent are slightly aggressive, clean, spicy and pleasant.
This is a cheese coming from Alto Alentejo and it's production involves several phases: the first one consists in milk casein heating and coagulation recurring to animal curdle or to thistle (Cynara Cardunculus) as coagulator agent; in the second, the curdled-milk is placed in the cheese-press (with around 8-10 cm of diameter and 3-4 cm of height) constantly squeezing until the final size. Next, follows the making of serum (during about 15 min) allowing to separate the restrained serum in the curd. Then proceeds salting, this operation discloses the know-how practiced in dairies, without a definite measure they reveal the knowledge of several generations. They put salt in the superior face of the cheese and place it in the shelves, in the following day they turn it and salt the other face; finally goes to cure in chambers, the maturation occurs for 3 or 4 weeks until reaching the degree of maturation known by "half-cure” cheese the most appreciated by consumers. The normal production period of this cheese is between middle of January and middle of July, during the normal goat and ovine regular lactation period. The cure conditions are determinant to achieve this cheese, assuring the protection against exaggerate speeds of air circulation. The cheese must be manipulated and stored to a maximum temperature of 10º C.
This is a cheese coming from Alto Alentejo and it's production involves several phases: the first one consists in milk casein heating and coagulation recurring to animal curdle or to thistle (Cynara Cardunculus) as coagulator agent; in the second, the curdled-milk is placed in the cheese-press (with around 8-10 cm of diameter and 3-4 cm of height) constantly squeezing until the final size. Next, follows the making of serum (during about 15 min) allowing to separate the restrained serum in the curd. Then proceeds salting, this operation discloses the know-how practiced in dairies, without a definite measure they reveal the knowledge of several generations. They put salt in the superior face of the cheese and place it in the shelves, in the following day they turn it and salt the other face; finally goes to cure in chambers, the maturation occurs for 3 or 4 weeks until reaching the degree of maturation known by "half-cure” cheese the most appreciated by consumers. The normal production period of this cheese is between middle of January and middle of July, during the normal goat and ovine regular lactation period. The cure conditions are determinant to achieve this cheese, assuring the protection against exaggerate speeds of air circulation. The cheese must be manipulated and stored to a maximum temperature of 10º C.
Picante da Beira Baixa Cheese (DOP)
Picante da Beira Baixa, or Picante, is a hard, piquant, highly salted traditional cheese handcrafted from a mixture of raw sheep and goat's milks. This is dark white to grey coloured cheese weighting between 400 g to 1.000 g. It’s also caled “queimoso” (burning) due to strong burning flavor and peculiar intense smell.This is a cheese only advised for the fans of strong flavors. It co
mes mainly from Serra da Gardunha mountain range located beyond the Estrela mountain range, in the Central region of Portugal. With its peak (“Pirâmide”) at about 1224 meters high, mainly dominated by Granite rocks. This area presents excellent conditions for the practice of Paragliding activities.
mes mainly from Serra da Gardunha mountain range located beyond the Estrela mountain range, in the Central region of Portugal. With its peak (“Pirâmide”) at about 1224 meters high, mainly dominated by Granite rocks. This area presents excellent conditions for the practice of Paragliding activities.
4/3/08
Pico Cheese (DOP)
Queijo do Pico, named after one of the nine islands of the Azores archipelago, was originally a cow's milk cheese, but it is now often mixed with goat's milk. This is a cylindrical cheese, with a diameter of 16-17 cm, 2-3 cm height and weighing about 650-800 g. With a yellow rind and soft curd, and a strong flavor, its powerful aroma varies according to the degree of aging.
The origin of Queijo do Pico has been lost on the memory of time, but it’s a common understanding that it was already being produced on the XVIII century. Since then and to this day, its savoir fair rules have been passed down from generation to generation.
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