The Best Spanish Cheeses: 6 You Need to Try!

Cows hate Spain.

Why? First of all, it’s just too damn hot. The further south you go, the higher the temperatures climb, and the less delicious grass you find.

Second of all, they’re at risk of cow homicide (cow-icide?). Walk into any bar in rural Spain and you’re likely to see at least a few bull heads decorating the walls.

Not at all comforting, if you’re a cow.

So, without all those cows, what’s a cheese-lover meant to do? Luckily, the Spanish are an adaptable bunch, and are perfectly happy to say “mooooove over cows, we’ve got way better milk”.

In Spain, you’ll find a heavy emphasis on sheep and goat cheese, with delicious results! So, what are the cheeses that you need to try when you’re in Spain?

I’ve got 6 that I can’t live without. And, once you try them, I’m not sure you’ll be able to, either! But first, how do you even tell them apart?

A Cheese By Any Other Name: How to Tell Spanish Cheeses Apart

You can divide Spanish cheeses (quesos) into three broad categories:

• Queso fresco: Fresh cheese, without any curing or aging.
• Queso semi-curado: A semi-cured cheese, aged for two or three months.
• Queso curado: Cured cheese, with at least four months of aging in a cellar or cave.

Most Spaniards will mostly eat queso fresco and semi-curado, most of the time. These are your every-day cheeses, and every bar in Spain serves them as simple tapas and aperitifs.

But it’s the third category, queso curado, where the real magic’s at. The most strongly flavoured, most intense, and most expensive cheeses around, these cured curds are the stuff of legend, and tradition.

Protected Cheeses, Protected Traditions

Just like ham and wine, Spain regulates cheesemaking based on how and where it’s made. There are 27 protected Spanish cheese appellations, controlling the ways traditional cheeses have to be made, and the specific places they have to come from.

You’ll see this marked on labels as either D.O.P. (Denominación de Origen Protegida) or I.G.P. (Indicación de origen Protegida). Like quality control stamps, these let you know you’re buying a cheese made in the traditional way, from its traditional place.

These regions cover the entire country, but I want to introduce you to my 6 favourites!

Read more: If you like Spanish cheese, you’ll love its sexy cousin! Read all about the wonder of Spanish acorn-fed ham here.

The 6 Spanish Cheeses You Need To Eat

1. Manchego

This is the most famous Spanish cheese. It features in some of Spain’s greatest pieces of literature, such as Cervantes’ Don Quixote, and accounts for almost 1/3 of Spain’s traditional cheesemaking each year!

Tapas restaurants throughout the world stock Manchego, and for good reason! Its firm texture and inoffensively tangy, not-too-salty, not-too-sweet flavour make it the perfect accompaniment to most meals.

Like a lot of Spanish queso, Manchego uses 100% unpasteurised sheep’s milk. The D.O.P for Manchego covers the south-central region of La Mancha, which (along with the local Manchega sheep-breed) gives the cheese its name.

Manchego is cured for at least 2 months (semi-curado), and at most 2 years (curado). Go find some, and pair it with a dry Andalusian sherry! (That nutty combo is mouthwatering).

2. Cabrales

A mix of unpasteurised cow, sheep, and goat milks, this funky blue cheese comes from the northern region of Asturias.

So, what does it taste like? Kind of like blue cheese on steroids.

Cabrales is a semi-hard blue cheese, with 2-4 months of curing. It also smells like a teenager’s foot (in a good way, like only cheese can). But don’t let that put you off, because this is one seriously tasty cheese! It’s salty, acidic, and oh-so-creamy!

In fact, Cabrales is so good that in 2018 one restuarant paid over €14,000 for just one wheel of it! So, if that doesn’t make it one of the best Spanish cheeses, I don’t know what will!

It also sticks to the roof of your mouth like nothing else does, so make sure you have a glass of sweet sherry handy to wash it down!

3. Torta del Casar

A lot of Spanish cheeses aren’t, strictly speaking, vegetarian. Like a lot of European cheese, an animal enzyme called rennet is required to help separate the milk’s curds from the whey.

But that’s where Torta del Casar comes in handy. This cheese, made from unpasteurised Merino sheep milk, uses a local thistle to curdle the milk.

As a result, the cheese has a slightly bitter, “sticky” flavour. It’s certainly unique, and despite being cured for at least 2 months, the centre is still gooey as anything!

You can spread this melty, salty, funky cheese on bread alongside a bitter and tannic red wine. Alternatively, just scoop it directly into your mouth!

4. Mahón

Alright, so I guess there are some cow’s milk cheeses. Mahón is one of these, and it’s anything but ordinary!

I’ve never met someone who doesn’t like Mahón, and if I did, I wouldn’t trust them. This crumbly, buttery cheese is so nutty it’s almost sweet, and the cheesemakers rub it with paprika while it cures for extra flavour!

You can find Mahón made with either raw or pasteurised milk, but it’s the raw milk version that’s considered best. Called “Artisan Mahón“, this tasty stuff will be cured for at least 2 or 3 months.

And the best of the best will have a mild flavour of the sea, carried all the way from the island of Menorca where it’s made.

Read more: Mahón is best served with a healthy drizzle of olive oil! Find out how to choose the best Spanish olive oils here.

5. Tetilla

Now we get to Nipple Cheese. I guess all cheese is nipple cheese really, but this one gets its name from the shape, not the orifice it comes from!

Tetilla comes from the northwestern region of Galicia, and uses unpasteurised milk (and nipples) from a local breed of cow. The curing doesn’t take long at all: you can have your tetilla ready in as few as 7 days. At most, you’ll just have to wait a month!

The resulting cheese is mild, tender, and buttery—just like the Galicians who make it!

6. Idiazábal

Queso Idiazábal—try saying that 3 times fast!

Like its quirky name suggests, this cheese comes from Spain’s northern Basque region. We’re back to unpasteurised sheep’s milk here, specifically, from a Basque variety of sheep called Latxa.

You’ll get Idiazábal with 2-8 months of curing, often with a hard and oily texture. Back in the day, this cheese would hang in the rafters of Basque homes (out of the rain), and take on a tangy, smoky flavour from the fireplace below!

Today, these cheeses still get lightly smoked, which means that they are just sensational alongside big, bold red wines.

And, if you’re ever in the Basque country, you can even walk the Idiazábal trail!

Read More

More of a sweet dessert kind of person? Have your Spanish cheese as an appetiser, and check out my picks for the nine best Spanish desserts in the country!

Do you have a favourite Spanish cheese? If I’ve not mentioned it, feel free to let me know in the comments below!