People & Place
Spanish and Portuguese Cheeses
Explore Spanish and Portuguese cheeses through individual guides to their names, origins and making. Choose a name you recognise, or follow the sequence below to find a less familiar cheese and the questions that help distinguish it.
Idiazabal
Cut into an Idiazabal and look past the rind.
Mahón-Menorca
Run your eye over the folds pressed into an artisan Mahón-Menorca.
Cabrales
Step into a limestone cave in the Picos de Europa and Cabrales makes its presence known.
Queso de Valdeón
The salt arrives first.
Torta del Casar
Lift the thin rind and there it is: a pale centre soft enough to spoon onto bread.
Queso Tetilla
Your knife slips through a yellow rind into a soft, uniform centre.
Everything in this section
- Queso ZamoranoTake a plain slice.
- RoncalYour knife meets a thick, rough rind, then the pale cheese beneath it breaks short.
- Queso de Murcia al VinoBring the maroon-purple rind towards your nose.
- San Simón da CostaCut through the golden exterior and birch smoke gives way to a pale, firm but yielding heart.
- Afuega'l PituFollow the folds on an Afuega'l Pitu and you can almost picture the cloth gathered around its curd.
- Queijo Serra da EstrelaCut into Queijo Serra da Estrela and watch its pale interior gently abandon its shape.
- Queijo S. JorgeBehind a stone wall on São Jorge, cattle graze green pasture.
- Queijo de AzeitãoOpen the thin rind and you meet a soft centre with a tang, followed by a little bitterness.
- Queso MajoreroTrace a finger around a wheel of Queso Majorero and you meet the imprint of plaited palm leaves.
- Queso de La SerenaLift the lid of a spoonable Queso de La Serena and watch the paste yield beneath your spoon.
- Gamonéu (Gamonedo)A piece breaks beneath your fingers.
- Queso IboresSlide a knife through that orange-red, paprika-rubbed rind and an ivory heart comes into view.
- Arzúa-UlloaFresh milk, yoghurt, butter: take a bite of Arzúa-Ulloa at six days and those gentle flavours greet you first.
- GarrotxaYour knife passes through a grey coat, and the smell of a damp cellar gives way to delicate milk flavours.
- Queijo SerpaYour knife slips through a thin, straw-yellow rind.
- Queijo de NisaCut into Queijo de Nisa and its intense aroma arrives before your first bite.
- Queijo do PicoCut a narrow wedge.
- Queijo TerrinchoPicture Portugal’s “hot land”, with Churra da Terra Quente sheep grazing dry uplands, fallow fields and river valleys.
- Queijos da Beira BaixaCut into Castelo Branco and you meet a cheese whose curd begins with cardoon.
- Queso PalmeroDark and pale stripes circle the wheel.
- Queso de Flor de GuíaCut into the wheel and the paste may be soft enough to almost flow.
- Queijo RabaçalPicture sheep and goats grazing among wild thyme in Portugal’s Sicó country.
- Picón Bejes-TresvisoYour knife slips through a thin grey rind, yellow-green in places, into pale paste threaded with blue-green veins.
- Queso de BurgosOpen a pack of Queso de Burgos and you meet white, moist cheese, with fresh milk taking centre stage.
- Queso de MurciaYour knife slips into fresco to reveal brilliant white cheese, tender and moist.
- Quesucos de LiébanaJuniper smoke greets you first, if you have picked a smoked one.
- Queso Nata de CantabriaYour knife slips through a soft, bone-coloured rind into a pale interior, solid yet creamy.
- Queso CameranoBefore your knife meets Queso Camerano, let your eyes follow its woven basket pattern.
- Queso CasínA decorative stamp meets a flattened disc of cheese.
- Queso de l'Alt Urgell y la CerdanyaYour knife slips through a pale brown, slightly moist rind into ivory cheese dotted with small, irregular openings.
- CebreiroA broad, flat cap of white curd catches your eye.
- Queso de AcehúcheCut through the waxy yellow to dark ochre rind and your knife reaches a moist, elastic centre.
- Queso CastellanoThe first bite brings a pronounced lactic tang.
- Queso Los BeyosPress your knife through the thin, rough rind of Queso Los Beyos and the compact interior begins to crumble.
- Queijo de ÉvoraA wood fire warms the milk.
- Queijo de Cabra TransmontanoFirst, a white slice with a close texture.