Spanish Manchego

Made from sheep’s milk, Manchego cheese is made in the La Mancha region of Spain. It is only made form whole milk and is a rich semi, hard cheese.

It is aged in natural caves for around 3 to 6 months, with gives it a distinctive and slightly salty taste. Made in a barrel shape, with a 25cm diameter and being 12 cm thick this cheese weighs around 2kg.

Using Manchega sheep milk, this cheese is wrapped in sheets of woven esparto grass during the manufacturing stage which gives it an inedible rind.

During production stage the cheese is pressed using wooden boards and this leaves an imprint, giving it an earthy and unique appearance. Manchego cheese is usually a white colour, sometimes a pale yellow, and the rind is somewhere between light brown and dark grey.

The taste is very distinctive, slightly salty but not overpowering. It is very similar ot normal feta cheese, though it has a slightly chewier texture.

The Denominacion de Origen protects the cheese and controls its production, and ensre the exclusive use of milk from the Manchega sheep. They also dictate that the cheese must be matured for a minimum of 2 months.

The cheese is available in three different ages of maturity. You can have it
fresh,
when it has been matured for 3 to 6 months,
or mature where it has been left for a year.