The Manchego Cheese

Spain has a wide variety of cheeses. Every region has its own specialty, covering a full range of cheese types. One essential characteristic is the type of milk used in the production (cows', sheep's or goats' milk).

Cheese called Manchego cheese is that which is prepared in the natural district of La Mancha (the land of Don Quixote), made exclusively from raw or pasteurised Manchega breed sheep's milk with a maturity period of at least sixty days. In case it is produced with raw milk the cheese is known as "Artesano" (Artisan).

Manchego Cheese is an oily cheese. Its shape is cylindrical. Its rind’s colour may be ivory to dark brown depending on how it has been aged. It will have a braided basketweave design around the outside. Its texture is compact and dense, its colour varies between white and yellowish-ivory, and its flavour is peculiar, intense and slightly salty.

Manchego cheese has had a Denomination of Origin since 1991; it can only be made in the area covered by the Denomination of Origin, which spans part of the Spanish provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca and Toledo. Each cheese must be identified on one of its flat sides with a label containing the Regulating Council anagram and a serial number.