Segredos da Vila - 16th Mar 2021
Cheese is
highly regarded in Portuguese cuisine and as such, the country produces various
high quality artisanal cheeses. There
are typically 15 known styles of Portuguese cheeses, most of which have been
given the designation of Denominação de Origem Protegida (DOP). DOP certifies
that the cheese is produced within the demarcated region using the traditional
methods and ingredients.
One of the
best cheeses produced in Portugal has to be Segredos da Vila with its Monte da
Vinha Cheese having won a Gold Medal in the World Cheese Award 2019/20 that
took place in Bergamo, Italy. This buttery cheese emerged the winner when
chosen blindly, among 3804 cheeses from 42 countries on 6 continents!
Monte da
Vinha Cheese
Raw sheep
milk - Creamy cheese
Monte da vinha
cheese is a small cheese, produced with raw sheep’s milk that is handcrafted
and manually produced. It is organic and without additives.
Traditionally
made only with raw ewe´s milk, salt and thistle, weighing at 70 gram.
Serra
Estrela DOP Cheese
Raw sheep
milk - Soft cheese
Produced in
highland Serra da Estrela, this is soft cheese from raw sheep milk, with a
washed rind. This cheese is produced
only with milk of Bordaleira or Churra Mondegueira sheep breed.
A soft
creamy past that is light and has a subtle acid personality.
Serra
Estrela old DOP Cheese
Raw sheep
milk – Semi-Hard cheese
Produced in
highland Serra da Estrela, this is soft cheese from raw sheep milk, with a
washed rind. This cheese is produced
only with milk of Bordaleira or Churra Mondegueira sheep breed. Aged with
minimum 120 days, the semi-hard cheese has a strong taste.
São
Jorge DOP Cheese 24 Months
Raw cow
milk – Hard cheese
From the
best that the Island of São Jorge in Azores - Portugal, has to offer, was
created for centuries a distinct matured cheese, with a hard paste, a drier
cheese.
The São
Jorge PDO Cheese Aged 24 months is a strong, clean and slightly spicy product
obtained from raw cow's milk, salt and rennet. Because of these
characteristics, it is perfect to compose a cheese board and pair with a
liqueur wine or with a younger port wine.
São
Miguel Cheese
Pasteurized
cow milk – Hard cheese
Produced on
the beautiful island of São Miguel in Azores- Portugal, the São Miguel Island
Cheese is a matured cheese with a semi-hard paste, has a firm texture and
matured for a minimum of 9 months.
Known by
many as "black rind cheese", it is a product with strong, clean
flavour and aroma, obtained from pasteurized cow's milk.
With such a
unique flavour, it is ideal for snacking, or added in salads, pasta, and au
gratin.
Azeitão
DOP Cheese
Raw sheep
milk - Soft cheese
Produced in
the villa Azeitão near Lisbon, this is small soft cheese from raw sheep milk,
it ripens on straw for at least 20 days.
It is a
light, creamy paste with a tart flavour.
Serpa
DOP Cheese
Raw sheep
milk – Semi soft cheese
Serpa
cheese is a semi-soft cheese obtained from sheep’s milk and coagulated with the
infusion of thistle.
With a
minimum maturation of 45 days, this cheese is yellowish in tone with few or no
eyes and has a strong aroma. The presence of a numbered mark on the cheese rind
and the certification seal on the label attest to the authenticity of Queijo de
Serpa DOP.
Nisa DOP
Cheese
Raw sheep
milk - Hard cheese
Nisa cheese
is a semi-hard sheep's milk cheese from the villa of Nisa, in Alto Alentejo in
Portugal. It is created from raw milk, which is coagulated, then curdled using
an infusion of thistle. It is yellowish white, with a robust flavour and has a
somewhat acidic finish.
