Top 41 Spanish Natural Rind Cheeses

Idiazabal is a traditional cheese made solely from raw sheep’s milk from the Latxa and Carranzana breeds, manufactured in the Basque Country and Navarre, Spain. It is a semi-hard cheese with a light brown rind and smooth texture. While aging for a minimum of two months, Idiazabal develops a complex flavor with buttery and nutty aromas. This cheese had been traditionally stored near the fireplace, which produced a subtle smokey and sweet aroma without the cheese being directly smoked. Nowadays, this cheese is sometimes lightly smoked to develop a flavor emulating that of cheese made the old-fashioned way. Idiazabal is usually eaten alongside quince jam and is best paired with red wine and cider. Expand

Queso Manchego is a pressed cheese made from raw or pasteurized ewe's milk of the Manchega breed that grazes freely on the pastures in the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, and Toledo. When produced from raw milk, Manchego cheese is labeled as Artesano. Its color ranges from pale yellow to greenish-black, and the flavor is slightly acidic, but depending on the aging period, it can also be spicy and peppery. The texture is firm and compact and it may contain tiny, irregular, unevenly distributed eyes. The rind is usually washed and coated in paraffin or immersed in olive to preserve its natural appearance and protect the chese from the mold. This full-fat cheese is rich in calcium and packed with essential vitamins such as A, D and E. The wheels weighing up to 1,5 kg are aged for at least 30 days, and larger cheeses are aged from 2 months to a maximum of 2 years. Manchego can be sold at different age gradations - Fresco (two weeks), Semi-Curado (from three weeks to four months), Curado (three to six months) and Anejo or Viejo (aged from one to two years).Expand

Queso Payoyo is a Spanish cheese made with a mixture of goat's and sheep's milk from local Payoyo goats and Grazalema sheep. Its flavor is rich and tangy, the rind is cross-hatched, while the texture is creamier and softer than Manchego, which it somewhat resembles. Payoyo's aroma has hints of butter and herbs. It is recommended to serve it with crusty bread and a glass of dry sherry or red wine. The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture awarded it with the title of Spain's Best Cheese in 2013, and in 2014, it won a bronze medal at the World's Best Cheese awards.Expand

Queso Zamorano is a cheese made from the milk of Churra and Castellana sheep breeds in the province of Zamora, in Castilla y León. It has a characteristic herringbone pattern imprinted on the top and bottom and a woven esparto grass (zigzag) pattern on the sides. Depending on the weight of this cheese, its maturation period can range from 60 to 100 days. During this period, it is regularly turned and rubbed with olive oil, which causes the rind to become brown in color. Queso Zamorano has a full, piquant flavor with a delicate, tart aftertaste, and it's mostly consumed as a table cheese.Expand

Cabrales is a blue cheese made from raw, unpasteurized cow's, goat's, and sheep's milk. The cheese is aged for 3 to 4 months in limestone caves in the region of Asturias in Spain. This artisan cheese is not injected with bacteria, but instead it matures from the outside inward. Cabrales has a strong, sharp aroma and a slightly acidic taste. Since it must contain at least 45% fat, it has a creamy and firm texture. The cheese is produced in limited amounts because it's manufactured on small, family-run farms using only traditional methods. This cheese is best paired with red wine, figs, and cured meat products. Expand

Picón Bejes-Tresviso is a blue cheese made with cow's, sheep's and goat's milk, produced in Cantabria, in the north of Spain. It is made by loosely placing hazelnut-sized curds in the mould, allowing sufficient air to circulate and start the growth of Penicillium mould. The cheese is then salted and dried for 12 and 18 days, at a temperature between 15 and 18 °C (59 and 64 °F). Picón Bejes-Tresviso has a thin, grey to yellow-green rind and is white, smooth and compact on the inside. It has teal-colored veins and a powerful, slightly spicy and tart flavor.Expand

Queso Tetilla is an aged semi-soft cheese made with the milk of Friesian, Swiss Brown and Rubia Galega cows in the region of Galicia. This cheese, ripened for a minimum of 7 days, has a typical pear-like shape with a pointed top, which is the reason why it's called tetilla, meaning nipple in Spanish. Its flavor is distinctively mild and buttery, with aromas similar to those of vanilla and walnuts. Queso Tetilla is usually paired with jamón Serrano, chorizo, membrillo, and a glass of wine.Expand

Mahón-Menorca is a full-fat pressed paste cheese, made from pasteurized or raw full-fat milk from Brown Swiss, Friesian or Menorcan cows. This cheese is traditionally manufactured on the island of Menorca from local cows' milk. The milk must be fresh and without any preservatives or processed in any way. Molded by hand and wrapped in a cotton cloth, Mahón cheese is then ripened for at least 21 days, and can be cured for up to 150 days. The flavor of this cheese is intense and complex, with a slight tang combined with notes of butter and hazelnuts. Mahón is periodically rubbed with olive oil and pimenton paprika, which gives its characteristic color and aroma. Expand

Gamoneu is a full-fat, ripened cheese made from raw cow's, goat's or sheep's milk in the area of the municipalities of Cangas de Onís and Onís in the Autonomous Community of Asturias. This cheese is lightly smoked and has streaks of green mold on the edges. Gamoneu is a semi-hard cheese, white to light yellow-colored and mild in flavor. It has a slightly smoky taste with clean and sharp notes and buttery and nutty aromas. After shaping, Gamoneu must be smoked between ten and twenty days, and matured for at least 60 days.Expand

Queso Iberico is a traditional pressed paste cheese with a natural rind. This hard cheese is made from a combination of cow's, sheep's, and goat's milk, and the ratio is often altered according to seasonal availability of the milk. The texture is oily and firm with small irregular eyes, while the aromas are rich. The distinctive flavor ranges from fruity and buttery to nutty and strong. It's recommended to use it as a table cheese with quince paste (membrillo), but it can also be grated over pasta and potatoes or grilled. There are two main types of Iberico – one is semi-cured and aged from 1 to 3 months, while the cured version is aged from 3 to 6 months.Expand