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I love manchego. It is a versatile cheese with a great texture and pleasing after-taste. Now available in many grocery stores, manchego is popping up on many American plates.
Where the heck is it from?
Manchego is produced only in the Spanish region of Castille-La Mancha, within the “four-corners” provinces of Toledo, Ciudad Real, Cuenca and Albacete. There are many opinions about this cheese and who does it better. I will not enter the fray, but a friend from Cuenca once looked askance at an Albacete-made wheel of manchego. He ate it anyway.
Why is it so good?
One Reason: Quality Control
Manchego is produced in the “comarca” of Castille-La Mancha, on the central elevated flatlands of Spain. The origin of the name is tied to the Manchega breed of sheep that graze the dry grasslands and stubbled wheat fields under the careful eye of those responsible for maintaining authenticity, or "Denominación de Origen Protegida" (D.O.P.) Cheese from other regions or made with milk from sheep not bred in La Mancha cannot be called “manchego”.
How old is it?
Manchego can be “young”, “semi-cured” or “cured”. The young is softer and creamier, and when sliced and served on artisanal bread with fig or apricot paste makes for a great sandwich. The sermi-cured (aged 6 months) is a harder and shaper in flavor and compliments cured meats, especially when served with a glass of red wine. When grated, the semi-cured can be used to make a fine gratin. The cured (aged more than 9 months) has a texture that approaches that of a parmegiano or reggiano and can be used for grating. Its nutty, pungent flavors stand up well to tomato and other robust flavors. I like to sprinkle it on chili.
What’s with that rind?
The patterns found on the inedible rind of a manchego wheel stem from the age-old methods of curing the cheese in moulds made of esparto grass, an abundant and hardy, reed-like grass native to arid regions of Spain. Since the 13th century, moulds have been woven from this coarse grass. The resulting herringbone or zigzag pattern is unique to this cheese. Today, industrial producers use engraved moulds that retain the pattern of the esparto grass. The thick, waxy rind keeps the cheese from drying out.
Artisanal? Industrial? What the…
Artisanal producers use unpasteurized milk, traditional moulds and techniques. Industrial producers, especially those aimed only at export, use pasteurized milk and engraved moulds.
Did Don Quixote eat Manchego?
If Don Quixote subsisted on the arid plateaus of La Mancha, he had to eat manchego. And he most certainly washed it down with a glass of tinto. An onion was probably involved, and after that, a little adventure.
Tags:
cheese, don quixote, manchego, spain
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Posted on 9/27/2005
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