Canastra is a type of

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range 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 prod ...

from

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Its name comes from the region where it is produced, a highland known as Serra da Canastra, located in the southwest region of the

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

state. The climate, altitude, pasture and water of this area are specific for its manufacturing and for this reason this delicacy is only made in a handful of towns, under supervised production. In 2008 the Canastra cheese was deemed to be part of the

intangible cultural heritage An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. In ...

of Brazil.

Characteristics

The Canastra cheese is made out of raw cow's milk and has a mildly spicy, full-bodied flavour. It is found under three types of maturation: fresh, half and fully cured. The fresh stage means a four-day period and the fully cured forty days.

References

External links

Queijos no Brasil - Queijo Canastra
{{Brazilian cheeses Brazilian cheeses Cuisine of the Southeast region of Brazil

Characteristics

See also

References

External links