Cured Manchego Cheese was, in the 2019 financial year, the cured cheese awarded with the World Cheese Awards 2018.

This means that cured Manchego cheese has positioned itself as the best cheese in the world. And is not for less.

Its flavor can take us to another planet, it is irresistible to any palate. Even for the most exquisite palates. Cured Manchego cheese is always present in our lives: on Christmas Eve there is cheese, at weddings there is cheese, on birthdays there is cheese, there is always cured Manchego cheese in our day to day, and of course in our kitchens.

What is cured Manchego cheese?

Cured Manchego cheese is a typical Spanish cheese, made from La Mancha sheep’s milk and protected by the Denomination of Origin in La Mancha.

This type of Manchego cheese is of such importance at national and European level that it has the PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) recognition at European level by Regulation (CE) 1107/96 of the European Commission.

On the label of the cured Manchego cheese, a zigzag of the old esparto girdle must appear, which will determine the age of the cheese. As for the flavor we mean, it will depend on its curing. In the case of cured Manchego cheese, it will fall on the walnuts and burnt caramel, with a slightly salty taste.

Quite a great product of Spanish origin and popularized throughout the world.

Cured Manchego cheese is a type of cheese that is pressed and made from La Mancha sheep’s milk. To be classified as cured Manchego cheese, it must go through a minimum maturation process of 30 days, if we refer to cheeses weighing less than 1.5 kg, while for the rest of cured cheeses it will be a minimum of 60 days and a maximum of 2 years.

World Cheese Awards

The World Cheese Awards is a cheese show and competition held each year in Dorfold Park, near Nantwich, England. It is a show that attracts more than 40,000 visitors to taste the products and visualize the cheese competition.

In the edition held during 2018, the cured Manchego cheese, from the Quesería Doña Francisca, Cáceres, was awarded one of the best cheeses in the world. Nothing more and nothing less than the world, gentlemen / as.

If by itself, cured Manchego cheese is already popular internationally, with this award it has firmly obtained its well-deserved recognition. And the thing is, cured Manchego cheese is not just any cheese, it is the most demanded by the Spanish.

Elaboration of cured cheese

For the production of cured Manchego cheese, the main ingredient is milk from the Manchego sheep, a type of sheep adapted to grazing in arid areas.

The process of making cured Manchego cheese is made up of different stages:
First, milk and refrigerate the milk.

Second, coagulate and cut the curd. The milk is transferred to the curdling vats, where it is coagulated using a natural rennet. For this process, the milk is heated to 30º and kept for 45 minutes. This curd obtained is cut to obtain small grains similar to those of rice.

The next step: desuerado. The mass is stirred and gradually reheated until reaching 37º C, in this way, the elimination of liquids is facilitated.

Then we move on to molding. The curd obtained is distributed in cylindrical molds that have reliefs to print the ” flower ” on the flat faces of the cheese and the pleita on the lateral surface. From there it is pressed, to give it shape and eliminate the remaining serum.

Identification of the piece with the casein plate, numbered and serialized, which identifies each piece individually.
Next, the pressing. Once the curd is in the molds, it is pressed to facilitate the removal of the whey from the inside. And after a period in press, the profile position is extracted and inverted.

The same pressing process is done again.

The next process is salting. Common salt is used and the duration ranges from 24 to 48 hours.

Finally drying and maturing. The pieces remain in places with adequate humidity to remove excess water. It is introduced into chambers, with controlled temperature and humidity, and the correct maturation of the cheese is facilitated.

Buy the best cured Manchego cheese online

Although cured Manchego cheese is popular internationally, finding it, and not only finding it, but also having the right characteristics and being a quality food, becomes a difficult task outside of Spain.

In our online store you can find the entire catalog of cured Manchego cheese, as well as the semi-cured and the old. In addition to other types of cheeses, such as Flor de Esgueva or an Idiazabal.

But we have more, any typical and popular product of Spanish gastronomy, you can also find it in Gastronomic Spain, the best online store of products in Spain, at the best price and with FREE shipping to the European Union.