Cheeses of Extremadura

The Extremadura Cheese Route

Cheeses are one of the culinary specialities of Extremadura. A visit to the different cheesemaking districts in the region is a journey to discover exquisite flavours and intriguing textures. Tasting the varieties, trying out recipes with local cheeses, seeing how Extremadura’s cheeses are made… This route can be summed up in one word: delicious.

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Torta del Casar Queso Ibores Queso Serena Acehúche cheese

Four designations of origin

Extremadura boasts four cheeses with protected names: Torta del Casar, La Serena, Ibores and Acehúche. Torta del Casar is a sheep’s milk cheese which uses wild thistle stamens as rennet. The result is a creamy paste to spread on bread, and an absolute treat. It is produced in municipalities in the districts of Llanos de Cáceres, Sierra de las Fuentes and Montánchez. Queso de la Serena is also made with thistle rennet, using only milk from Merino sheep. A curious anecdote is that you need milk from 15 sheep to make a single kilo of cheese. This is another spreadable cheese, and originated in the district of La Serena.The third jewel in the crown, Queso Ibores, is made with goat’s milk. It is made in the area of Los Ibores, Las Villuercas, La Jara and Trujillo, where the huge variety of wild herbs in the pastures contribute to the exquisite milk produced by the herds. You can find it with a natural rind, oil-rubbed, or paprika-rubbed.

Acehuche cheese is made with unpasteurised milk from specific breeds of goats (retinta, verata, florida, malagueña and murciana-granadina). It is matured for a minimum of 40 days. Its strong aroma disguises a stunning, intense and slightly spicy flavour. It is produced in the centre-west of the province of Cáceres, in municipalities in the Tajo-Salor-Almonte and Valle del Alagón regions.

Cheesemaking areas

Along with these four famous cheeses, Extremadura also has five other cheese-producing regions: Tierra de Barros, Monfragüe, Tentudía, Tajo Internacional-Sierra de San Pedro and La Vera. Here you can try other specialities such as quesaílla, also known as “merendera” (snack) because you can eat a whole one as a snack; La Vera goat’s cheese, rubbed with the famous La Vera pimenton, of course; and celebrated varieties such as Torta de los Barros and goat’s cheese roulade.

Activities

If you would like to see just how the cheeses of Extremadura are made, you can opt for tastings and guided tours of cheesemakers and farms. Or you could attend the National Cheese Fair in Trujillo (in late April or early May). As well as the cheeses of Extremadura, the fair gives you the chance to taste over 300 varieties from all over Spain, and the specialities of each year’s guest country. It also includes tasting competitions, workshops and demonstrations on artisanal methods.