Garrotxa is a traditional Catalan goat cheese.Ari Weinzweig. ''Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating'' (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2003), p. 275. Almost extinct by the early 1980s, it has been revived by a young

cheesemakers Cheesemaking (or caseiculture) is the craft of making cheese. The production of cheese, like many other food preservation processes, allows the nutritional and economic value of a food material, in this case milk, to be preserved in concentrate ...

and goat farmers'

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

in the

Garrotxa Garrotxa () is a comarca (county) in the Girona region, Catalonia, Spain. Its population in 2016 was 55,999, more than half of them in the capital city of Olot. It is roughly equivalent to the historical County of Besalú. Geography Garrotx ...

area of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

.Janet Fletcher, ''Cheese & Wine: A Guide to Selecting, Pairing, and Enjoying'' (Chronicle Books, 2007), p. 70. The revival began in 1981,Juliet Harbutt, ''The World Cheese Book'' (Penguin, 2009), p. 156. and the cheese has since become widespread in artisanal production.John W. Fischer, ''Cheese: Identification, Classification, Utilization'' (Cengage: 2010), p. 69. Garrotxa is traditionally made from the milk of

Murciana goat Murciana, also called Murcian, Murcien, Murciene and Royal Murciana is a dual-purpose (for both milk and meat) breed of goat originally bred in the Murcia province along the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southeastern Spain. The main mi ...

s and aged in

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

s to enhance

mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures that certain fungus, fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of Spore#Fungi, spores containing Secondary metabolite#Fungal secondary metabolites, fungal ...

development and the resulting flavor. Garrotxa is described as having a powdery gray or grayish-blue rind, a firm texture, an ivory-colored interior, and an earthy flavor. The cheese is semi-soft.

Cheese wheel 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 ...

s of Garrotxa are small (typically around three pounds) and mature relatively quickly in the humid

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

. Maturing time varies, but is typically between four and eight weeks. The cheese is

pasteurized In food processing, pasteurization ( also pasteurisation) is a process of food preservation in which packaged foods (e.g., milk and fruit juices) are treated with mild heat, usually to less than , to eliminate pathogens and extend shelf life ...

.Max McCalman & David Gibbons, ''Mastering Cheese: Lessons for Connoisseurship from a Maître Fromager'' (Random House: 2009), p. 151. Garrotxa pairs well with crusty country bread,

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...

s, and

nuts Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed * Nut (food), a dry and edible fruit or seed, including but not limited to true nuts * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut, NUT or Nuts may also refer to: A ...

, such as toasted

hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus '' Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according to ...

s, or

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...

s or

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

s. It may be served as

tapas Tapas () are appetisers or snacks in Spanish cuisine. They can be combined to make a full meal and are served cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as , which are battered, fried baby squid; or , spicy potatoes). In some bars ...

or at the end of a meal. Garrotxa is sometimes described as a

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly umami, ...

cheese. The cheese is mildly acidic.

Wine pairing Wine and food matching is the process of pairing food dishes with wine to enhance the dining experience. In many cultures, wine has had a long history of being a staple at the dinner table and in some ways both the winemaking and culinary traditi ...

include

white wine White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without undergoing the process of Maceration (wine), maceration, which involves prolonged contact between the juice with the grape skins, seeds, and pulp. The wine color, colou ...

s such as a Catalan

Priorat Priorat () is a comarca (county) in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The region is named due to the monastery of Scala Dei which held many properties and the capital is now the town of Falset. Economy The central part of the comarca, ''Pr ...

, or

Pinot Gris Pinot gris, pinot grigio (, ), or ''Grauburgunder'' is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the pinot noir variety, it normally has a pinkish-gray hue, accounting for its name, but th ...

Verdejo Verdejo is a variety of wine grape that has long been grown in the Rueda region of Spain. The grape originated in North Africa, and was spread to Rueda in about the 11th Century, possibly by Mozarabs. Verdejo was generally used to make a stron ...

, or

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...

with "texture to complement the cheese's buttery sweetness," or

fino In computer science, FINO is a humorous scheduling algorithm. It is an acronym for ''first in, never out'' as opposed to traditional ''first in, first out'' (FIFO) and ''last in, first out'' (LIFO) algorithms. A similar acronym is "FISH", for ...

or dry

amontillado Amontillado () is a variety of sherry wine characterised by being darker than fino sherry, but lighter than oloroso sherry. Amontillado wine is named after the Montilla municipality, in Andalusia, Spain, where the style of sherry originated in th ...

sherry Sherry ( ) is a fortified wine produced from white grapes grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is a drink produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versio ...

, to bring out the cheese's nuttiness. , some Catalans were seeking

designation of origin Designation may refer to: * Designation (law), the process of determining an incumbent's successor * Professional certification * Designation (landmarks), an official classification determined by a government agency or historical society * Designa ...

status for Garrotxa. Garrotxa received the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status on 11/13/2022

In popular culture

Garrotxa was used to create a hole in a sail by firing it from a cannon, by ''

MythBusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television series created by Peter Rees (producer), Peter Rees and produced by Beyond International in Australia. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast in ...

'' (ep. 128), to declare "plausible" the apocryphal tale of Captain Coe and the Battle of the Cheese.

References

{{Spanish cheeses Catalan cuisine Goat's-milk cheeses Garrotxa Spanish cheeses

In popular culture

See also

References