"manchego" news and stories

The mere smell of a cheese can indicate its pastoral origins. So, when inhaling the deep floral, fruity aroma of Queso de Guía, a semi-aged sheep's milk cheese, it's no wonder that the experience is like breathing in the fragrance of pastures on Gran Canaria, one of the Canary Islands, where the cheese is produced.

In the Canary Islands, shepherds move their sheep from one area to another searching for richer pastures where the sheep can graze. It's these "mudadas" (the term used by shepherds to explain the pasture changes) that create Queso de Guía's bright bouquet with overtones of Champagne and dried fruits. Indeed, there is a close relationship between the diet of the sheep and the taste of its milk.

Do you find the idea of selecting cheese for a dinner party daunting? Here's a quick guide to arranging a cheese course.

Think you're the big cheese? Test your cheese knowledge with our Cheese Trivia Quiz on Slashfood.

Abbaye de Belloc. Photo: Max Shrem

This summer Slashfood blogger Max Shrem is apprenticing at renowned Paris cheese shop Fromagerie Trotté. In 'Le Cheese Course,' Max will share his impressions and opinions of French cheese à la francaise!

When it comes to firm sheep's milk cheeses, most Americans are more or less familiar with Italian Pecorinos, like Pecorino Romano, and, of course, the renowned Spanish Manchego. But, in the Ossau valley in the French Pyrenees, cheesemakers also craft unique sheep's milk cheeses, like the famed Ossau-Iraty, and the less known Abbaye de Belloc.

These cheeses stand out due to their particularly sweet delicate flavor and firm, creamy texture that gradually melts on the palate. Among them, Abbaye de Belloc remains a gastronomic gem with its exceptionally well-balanced, smooth, unctuous texture, a result of the milk of the red-nosed Manech ewes (not to be confused with Santa's red-nosed reindeer, Rudolph).

"The best way to appreciate this kind of consistency is to eat a very thin slice," says Fromagerie Trotté's Jean-Philippe Trotte in Paris. "The thinner the slice, the better you'll take in the very sain [French for uncontaminated, healthy and wholesome] taste of the cheese's milk."

If Kraft can produce best-selling industrial cheeses why can't Nestle? It's slightly alarming to see that in Mexico Nestle is selling a cheese they call Manchego. Indeed, the cheese they call Manchego could not be any more different than the original Manchego, produced in the region of La Mancha in Spain. Instead of being made with sheep's milk, it's made with cow's milk. While Manchego has a striking bright dark rind, this one is rindless. In short, Nestle's version is highly manufactured; Manchego is artisanal.

The larger issue is whether or not the Spanish government should protect the Manchego name, like France has done with Champagne and Mexico with tequila. Nestle is taking advantage of a Spanish cheese and marketing their version under its name. It's no wonder why the company is selling it specifically in Mexican grocery stores. But, perhaps I am being too judgmental of Nestle. After all, think of what the American food market has done to mozzarella. Check out the poll below to let us know what you think.