Serra da Estrela cheese (''Queijo Serra da Estrela'') is a

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During productio ...

made in the mountainous region of

Serra da Estrela Serra da Estrela () is the highest mountain range in Continental Portugal. Together with the Serra da Lousã it is the westernmost constituent range of the Sistema Central and also one of the highest in the system. It includes mainland Portugal's ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

. Under the name "Queijo Serra da Estrela" it is a

Protected designation of origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union and the United Kingdom aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main ...

(PDO) in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

as well as the UK.EU Serra da Estrela Profile
(accessed 23 May 2009) The region where the Serra da Estrela cheese can be manufactured is limited to an area of , which comprises the municipalities of

Celorico da Beira Celorico da Beira () is a municipality in Guarda District in Portugal. The municipality population in 2011 was 7,693,Fornos de Algodres Fornos may refer to the following places in Portugal: * Fornos (Castelo de Paiva), a civil parish in the municipality of Castelo de Paiva * Fornos (Freixo de Espada à Cinta), a civil parish in the municipality of Freixo de Espada à Cinta * Forno ...

, Gouveia,

Mangualde Mangualde () is a municipality in the subregion of Dão-Lafões (historical Beira Interior), central region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 19,880, in an area of 219.26 km2. History The region of Mangualde has been a crossroads of ma ...

, Manteigas,

Nelas Nelas () is a municipality located in the Centro Region of continental Portugal. The population in 2011 was 14,037, in an area of 125.71 km². History Settlement of the territory of Nelas dates back to the settlement by Neolithic and Stone ...

Oliveira do Hospital Oliveira do Hospital () is a municipality in the district of Coimbra, in the central part of continental Portugal. The population in 2011 was 20,855, in an area of 234.52 km². History Inhabited by ancient civilizations, Oliveira do Hospita ...

Penalva do Castelo Penalva do Castelo () is a municipality in the district Viseu in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 7,956, in an area of 134.34 km2. The present mayor is Francisco Lopes de Carvalho, elected by the Socialist Party. The municipal holiday is ...

Carregal do Sal Carregal do Sal () is a municipality in Viseu District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 9,835, in an area of 116.89 km2. The present mayor is Atílio dos Santos Nunes, elected by the Social Democratic Party. The municipal holiday is th ...

and

Seia Seia () is a municipality in Guarda District in Portugal. The population in 2021 was 21,755, in an area of . Its urban population is about 7,000. Seia was elevated to city status on July 3, 1986. The municipality is situated on the northwestern slo ...

Manufacturing

The production of the cheese has to follow very rigorous rules. It is made from

sheep's milk Sheep's milk (or ewes' milk) is the milk of domestic sheep. It is commonly used to make cultured dairy products such as cheese. Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include feta (Greece), ricotta (Italy), and Roquefort (France). Sheep breeds S ...

, mostly during the months of November to March. Its maturation period has specific norms and must last a minimum of thirty days. The texture of the paste varies depending on its age, from a very soft semi-liquid when young, to a soft but sliceable solid when older. It is a cured cheese created by

artisanal An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, ...

producers with a white or slightly yellow color and a uniform creamy consistency with at most a few small holes in it. Its particular qualities result from slow draining of curdled raw sheep's milk which has been coagulated by using local '' Cynara cadunculus'' thistle rather than rennet. The cheese is formed into a somewhat irregular wheel with slightly bulging sides and upper surface. It typically has a soft well-formed rind, smooth and thin with a uniform straw-yellow colour and is traditionally bound in cloth.

Ark of Taste

In 2014, the ''Serra da Estrela Cheese'' was boarded in the international catalogue of endangered

heritage foods Heritage Foods Limited (commonly known as Heritage Foods) is one of the largest private sector dairy enterprises in Southern India. History The Heritage Group was founded in 1992 by Telugu Desam Party Chief and former Chief Minister of Andhra ...

named ''

Ark of Taste The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distin ...

'' which is maintained by the global

Slow Food Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and re ...

movement.''Queijo Serra da Estrela'' in the "Ark of Taste"
Fondazione Slow Food per la Biodiversità. Retrieved 26 March 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serra Estrela Cheese Portuguese cheeses Portuguese products with protected designation of origin Sheep's-milk cheeses Cheeses with designation of origin protected in the European Union Serra da Estrela

Manufacturing

Ark of Taste

See also

References