De Queijo de Azeitao
De Queijo de Azeitao
After many generations, this cheese has become a real delicacy in Setubal. The famous Portugese cheese is made of raw sheep's milk. The cheese curd comes form the Cynara Carduculus, also known as the cardboard plant. This means that the cheese is completely vegetarian.
The history of Azeitao cheese, dates from 1830 when a man named Gaspar Henriques de Paiva, moved form Monsanto to Azeitao. He was a farmer who had many sheep in his hometown.
In Monsanto he met Castelo Branco, a cheese maker who had sheep of the same breed as Gaspar. The mil of this breed was used in the preparation of the cheese. Castelo, the cheese maker, taught Gaspar all the secrets of the cheese production.
Later, when Gaspar moved to Azeitao, he taught the sheperds of Azeitao the secrets of the production process. The cheese became a very big succes, passed over from generation to generation, making it the most famous cheese of Azeitao.
The cheese production process has a lot of different steps.
First, the milk is poured over a tense cloth with salt in a clay pot. In this way, the milk absorbs the taste of the salt. The salt is not taken directly into the clay pot because it would drop to the bottom, which could not spread the taste of the salt through the milk. In addition, the thistle (Cynara Carduculus) is made for the spicy and floral flavors. Then the clay pot is placed at a fireplace for about 45 minutes until the milk is solidified to a temperature of 32 ° C. The solid milk, nowadays called curd; the mass of clustered proteins from the milk forming the first stage of milk. After 45 minutes, let them rest for the curd until it is fully cooled.
When the cheese has cooled down, they take a big cheese strap that is laid on a sort of operating table. Carefully they remove the curd out of the pot made of clay. Than, they put it in a cheese strap. If all the curd, the solidified mass, lies on the table in the cheese strap, they carefully press all of the remaining moisture out of the mass. When all the moisture is removed, they take small cheese straps to squeeze the cheese and to form them.
The small cheese strap is pressed for about 10 to 15 times, so it forms one beautiful, solid whole without moisture. The cheese strap is removed form the solid whole and is laid seperately for the ripening process. After a 20-day ripening process, the cheese has a delicious, creamy texture that can easily be eaten with a spoon. The Queijo de Azeitao has an earthy character with beautiful flavors of flowers and sweet herbs. Cheese lovers can also consume the cheese after the production process. Than the cheese will not be creamy yet but still tasty and pure.
After many generations, this cheese has become a real delicacy in Setubal. The famous Portugese cheese is made of raw sheep's milk. The cheese curd comes form the Cynara Carduculus, also known as the cardboard plant. This means that the cheese is completely vegetarian. The history of Azeitao cheese, dates from 1830 when a man named Gaspar Henriques de Paiva, moved form Monsanto to Azeitao. He was a farmer who had many sheep in his hometown.
In Monsanto he met Castelo Branco, a cheese maker who had sheep of the same breed as Gaspar. The mil of this breed was used in the preparation of the cheese. Castelo, the cheese maker, taught Gaspar all the secrets of the cheese production.
The cheese production process has a lot of different steps.
First, the milk is poured over a tense cloth with salt in a clay pot. In this way, the milk absorbs the taste of the salt. The salt is not taken directly into the clay pot because it would drop to the bottom, which could not spread the taste of the salt through the milk. In addition, the thistle (Cynara Carduculus) is made for the spicy and floral flavors. Then the clay pot is placed at a fireplace for about 45 minutes until the milk is solidified to a temperature of 32 ° C. The solid milk, nowadays called curd; the mass of clustered proteins from the milk forming the first stage of milk. After 45 minutes, let them rest for the curd until it is fully cooled.
When the cheese has cooled down, they take a big cheese strap that is laid on a sort of operating table. Carefully they remove the curd out of the pot made of clay. Than, they put it in a cheese strap. If all the curd, the solidified mass, lies on the table in the cheese strap, they carefully press all of the remaining moisture out of the mass. When all the moisture is removed, they take small cheese straps to squeeze the cheese and to form them.The small cheese strap is pressed for about 10 to 15 times, so it forms one beautiful, solid whole without moisture. The cheese strap is removed form the solid whole and is laid seperately for the ripening process. After a 20-day ripening process, the cheese has a delicious, creamy texture that can easily be eaten with a spoon. The Queijo de Azeitao has an earthy character with beautiful flavors of flowers and sweet herbs. Cheese lovers can also consume the cheese after the production process. Than the cheese will not be creamy yet but still tasty and pure.
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