slide 3, Menu
Sheep’s milk cheese from the region of La Mancha. The rind pattern comes from the time when cheese was wrapped in sheets of woven
esparto grass. Mild, nutty flavor. The six-month aged is more semi-soft than 12-month aged which is sharper or dryer. This cheese can only be made with the milk of Manchega sheep. The 6-Month Manchego is required at all Barcelona’s.
MANCHEGO
(mahn-chay-goh)
Milk-Type
Sheep’s Milk
Manchego cheese is the star of our show, and it has a firm and compact consistency and a buttery texture, and often contains small,
unevenly distributed air pockets. The color of the cheese varies from white to ivory-yellow, and the inedible rind from yellow to brownish-beige. The cheese has a distinctive flavor, well-developed but not too strong, creamy with a slight piquancy, and leaves
an aftertaste that is characteristic of sheep's milk.
To be designated as Queso Manchego, the cheese must satisfy the following requirements:
It must have been produced in an area that is restricted to designated parts of the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca and
Toledo that exist within the La Mancha region.
It can be made only with the whole milk of sheep of the manchega breed that are raised on registered farms within the designated
area.
The cheese must have been aged for a minimum of 60 days (30 days for cheeses weighing up to 1.5 kg) and a maximum of two years.
The cheese must be produced by pressing in a cylindrical mold that has a maximum height of 12 cm and a maximum diameter of 22 cm.
Manchego cheese can be made from pasteurised or raw milk; if the latter, it may be labelled as artesano (artisan). The only permitted
additives are natural rennet or another approved coagulating enzyme, and sodium chloride (salt).
The Manchego we use are 6-month aged cheese wheels. Well beyond the minimum aging requirement, it is also pasteurized. 6-month Manchego
specifically is semi-firm and has a slightly sweet and nutty flavor.