Additional information
Packsize | 2/8 LB |
---|
Ricotta Salata is one of Italy’s most unusual and least understood cheeses. Making it from goat’s milk makes it even more unique. The goat’s milk curds and whey used to make this cheese are pressed and dried even before the cheese is aged, giving this pure white cheese a dense but slightly spongy texture and a salty, milky flavor — like a dry Italian feta.
Despite its name, this is not the soft, creamy Ricotta as Americans have come to know it. In Italian, Ricotta simply means “recooked”. It is a cheese-making process rather than a specific cheese. This goat’s milk Ricotta is also a salata, or “salted” cheese. As fresh Ricotta goes through its natural aging process, it becomes harder over time. This goat’s milk Ricotta Salata is not overly aged, making it semi-soft in texture.
Fourth generation cheesemaker Javier and his wife make this teardrop shaped cheese in their home in Lugo, Galicia, which also doubles as a cheese plant. It’s a tiny operation with only 4 employes, and the care with which this award-winning cheese is made shows. Javier waits until the end of the process to smoke the cheese with birch wood for up to 90 minutes. It develops a lovely caramel colored exterior, a golden interior with tiny eyes and a subtle smoked flavor. Javier says the aroma reminds his customers of a time gone by, when their food was cooked over a wood-fired flame. We couldn’t agree more.
The cheese is made in Posada de Valdeon, in the Castile-Leon region of the northwestern Spain and is wrapped in sycamore maple or chestnut leaves before being sent to market. The cheese has a very intense blue flavor, but is not as yellowed or as biting as its cousin Cabrales. Aged 6 Months
A true AOC gem. It`s significant fruity nutty flavor is derived from milk from Manech and Basc Beanaise sheep. A perfect picnic cheese. Pairs well with nearly any fruit or vegetable, and also salty meats such as Prosciutto di Parma.
Campo de Montalban is a mixed-milk cheese, containing roughly sixty percent cow`s milk with the remainder comprised of goat`s and sheep`s milks. It was originally considered a Manchego, but in 1985 the AOC standards for Manchego were changed to mandate 100 percent sheep’s milk. As Campo de Montalban is mixed-milk, its name was changed to reflect its home region. Made in the town of La Puebla de Montalban, its name translates to `the fields of Montalban.
We’re excited to introduce our newest raw milk find from Spain! This “Sacred Dame” is produced using Murciana goat’s milk in the town of Carpio de Tajo, just outside of Toledo. The goats belong to a cooperative of farmers who also are members of the dairy that make the cheese. They believe in aging the cheese a minimum of 6 months to accentuate the best features of the cheese, which has a full flavor (sweet and grassy) and great protein formation.