Alpujarra cheese facts for kids

Alpujarras cheese is a yummy Spanish cheese that comes from a beautiful area called Andalusia in eastern Spain. This region includes places like Granada and Almería, and also the Penibética mountains. The cheese gets its name from a mountain area called Alpujarra, which is known for its long history of raising goats.

This special cheese is made from the milk of a type of goat called the White Andalusian Domestic goat. You can find Alpujarras cheese in two main types: fresh or matured. It's known for being quite rich and creamy. The matured cheese usually looks like a short, wide cylinder. Its rind often has cool patterns, like flowers on the top and lines on the sides. These lines look like marks from old baskets made of rushes. The cheese also has a special mark that shows it's from a "Protected Designation of Origin" (P.D.O.), which means it's a unique product from this specific area.

Fresh Alpujarras cheese is sold in pieces weighing about 500 grams to 1 kilogram. The cured (matured) cheese can be bigger, up to 2 kilograms.

How Alpujarras Cheese is Made

Alpujarras cheese is made from fresh, flavorful milk that's rich in fats.

• For fresh cheese, the milk is pasteurized, which means it's heated to kill any germs.
• For cured cheese, the milk is left raw.
• Special rennet from young goats is added to the milk. This helps the milk curdle and gives the cheese its best qualities.
• The milk is warmed to about 30-32°C, then the rennet is added.
• The milk turns into a soft curd in about 30 to 45 minutes, sometimes up to two hours.
• Next, the curd is cut into small pieces, like peas or beans. This helps the liquid part, called whey, drain away.
• After resting, the curd is put into baskets. In the past, these baskets were made of rushes, but now they are usually plastic. These baskets have patterns that will show up on the cheese's rind.
• The cheeses are pressed for 48 hours.
• Then, they are salted by soaking in a salty water (brine) for about 24 hours.
• Finally, the cheeses are moved to cool, humid rooms to mature. Fresh cheese can be eaten within 60 days. Matured cheese needs to stay for at least 60 days, and sometimes up to 4 months, to develop its full flavor.

What Alpujarras Cheese Tastes Like

This cheese has a strong, milky flavor. It's a little salty and can be slightly peppery. Because it has a lot of fat, it feels buttery and smooth when you eat it. The taste can change a bit depending on when it was made during the year. Fresh Alpujarras cheese is usually sweeter and tastes more milky. It's best to eat this cheese within about 9 months. After that, its flavor might change too much.

Texture of the Cheese

The matured Alpujarras cheese feels firm and not stretchy. It often has small, evenly spaced holes inside. Its color is a dull, ivory-white. The fresh cheese is soft and a shiny white.

The Cheese Rind

The rind (the outside skin) of the matured cheese is usually natural, clean, and a yellowish straw color. Sometimes, it's rubbed with olive oil. As it ages, the rind can turn dark brownish and might even have some green spots from molds growing on the surface. Fresh cheese doesn't really have a rind.

How to Enjoy Alpujarras Cheese

Alpujarras cheese is often enjoyed with white wines like Jumilla or Cariñena. It also tastes great with Amontillado and fino sherry. You can eat it with many different dishes, or simply enjoy it with dried fruit and nuts. Fresh Alpujarras cheese is often sliced and grilled, making a tasty starter.

See also

In Spanish: Queso de Las Alpujarras para niños