Semi-maturated sheep cheese

Thanks to its maturing of 2 or 3 months, the semi-matured sheep cheese is the very best friends of lots of people who like cheese but not very strong flavors :it is the perfect solution.

Semi Matured Cheese

Type of sheep milk

The semi-matured sheep cheese permits to enjoy much more the quality and the flavor of the milk, even more when it is raw sheep’s milk.

Raw sheep milk has no known any previous treatment. Consequently, the cheese keeps all good bacterias and the very special taste of the sheep milk.

We have to wait 60 days to consume this cheese.

The rennet

The semi-matured sheep cheese is a hard cheese elaborated with a special rennet.

We obtain this rennet from the stomach of the lamb. It gives a very special taste and texture.

Natural rind

All our cheeses have the same rind : the traditional drawing of Zamora cheeses.

We don’t use any chemical treatment, our rind is perfectly edible.

Thanks to the natural penicillium mold and the olive oil, the natural rind is ivory-yellow.

Semi Matured Sheep Cheese

Maturing

If we want to understand well what is a semi-matured sheep cheese, we should learn first what does “matured” mean. The maturing is certainly the most important moment of the elaboration of the cheese and of its taste. It permits to transform the flavor and the final texture.

This process consists in ageing the cheese. During this period, the cheese’s texture and the flavor of the milk are going to change : indeed, the more the cheese is matured the less you can notice the milk flavor.

It is drier than a soft white cheese but it contains more water than a more matured one. Thanks to our semi-matured sheep cheese we can enjoy the taste of the best raw sheep’s milk of Castilla-and-Léon region.

Preserve the cheese

It is also important to know how to preserve the cheese in order to enjoy better its authentic flavor. It is an alive product, it needs to breathe.

You have to preserve it individually at the bottom of your fridge (where the cold is less dry).

Finally, to taste your semi-matured sheep cheese it is better to take it out of the fridge 50 minutes before.

How to cut this semi-matured sheep cheese ?

Of course, you can use lots of different way to cut your cheese but we want to help you. Here at La Antigua, we prefer to use a knife of soft cheese.

Furthermore, to make it easier, you can use a two-handle’s knife. Even if this cheese is less dry than a matured one, it is still a little difficult to cut it.

Cooking

This cheese is also perfect to cook. Adding the flavor of the cheese does not mean that you will not taste the flavors of others ingredients because this semi-matured cheese is not too strong. It will transform a good dish in perfect dish.

If you wanna try very good recipes, please visit our youtube canal : Quesería La Antigua de Fuentesaúco and our program called #Quesococina.

Blending 

Who is the very best friend of the cheese ? The wine, of course !

If this cheese is perfect to cook, you can also enjoy it with a good wine. It is not a dry cheese so you can blend it with dry white wine or a sparkling white wine which will contrast with the sweetness of the cheese.

You can also enjoy your semi-matured sheep cheese with a good beer. For examples, the cereal taste of the lager and the caramelized taste of the amber lager are perfect with this cheese.

Enjoy your meal !

Semi Maturated Sheep Cheese Recipe