Ah Spain!

AI generated, please excuse any errors!

0:00
[Music]
0:04
Welcome to Aspain Poco Poco. Hi Tanya.
0:07
Hi. Today we are going to talk about
0:09
cheese. I'm very excited. I do love a
0:12
good cheese.
0:13
Also known as queso. We are in ESP.
0:15
Exactly. And I will say I'm just for a
0:17
little bit of like intro to cheeses in
0:20
general in Spain. I was very surprised
0:22
at all the different cheeses that I
0:25
found here when we first moved that I
0:26
really had not seen that type of cheese
0:28
before. And it is greatly explained by
0:30
the fact that Spain only exports 7% of
0:34
its cheeses, whereas France, as one can
0:39
possibly imagine, slightly more at 43%.
0:42
And even if these numbers are very
0:43
rough, obviously they change. I mean,
0:44
you can see that the Spanish are really
0:46
holding on to their cheeses and eating
0:47
them. So,
0:49
yeah. So,
0:50
well, I mean, you go back to this, you
0:52
know, in the States, if you wanted
0:53
Spanish cheese, you were getting menchgo
0:55
at Trader Joe's, and that was pretty
0:56
much the extent of
0:57
Yes, I would say that's true. And then
0:58
when we came here, I mean, there's just
1:00
so many different cheeses. They make a
1:01
lot of cheese out of sheep and goats
1:03
milk as well, which for someone that's a
1:05
little bit lactose intolerant, love that
1:06
because there's so many mixes. It's not
1:08
all cow's cheese. And I think in
1:10
America, like you said, unless you're
1:11
going for a feta or something, it's all
1:14
cow's cheese for the most part, I think.
1:17
Right. Right. And and being from
1:19
America, coming here, if I may just add,
1:21
is that
1:23
when I first arrived, I thought Spain
1:25
had no cheeses because I knew none of
1:27
these cheeses because I wasn't exposed
1:29
to them before I moved here. Right.
1:31
Right. No, it's so true. And then the
1:33
the flavor mixes that you get when
1:35
you'll see a lot of mixes, which is, you
1:38
know, a cow and a sheep and a goat all
1:40
like they'll mix all those milks
1:41
together and make a cheese. Very
1:42
interesting flavors. And what's lovely
1:44
about it, and I think you've mentioned
1:45
this in another episode, they put the
1:47
animals on the cheeses,
1:48
and it's really cute.
1:50
The animal code animal code, which I
1:52
love, makes it so easy. So,
1:55
so you don't have to speak espanol to
1:58
understand what cheese.
1:59
No, you do not. But I hope that this
2:00
little pock will help everyone
2:02
understand the Spanish cheeses a bit
2:04
better. It certainly did for me. Do you
2:05
want to start with the first one? We're
2:08
going to start with the areas of Spain.
2:09
So, if you want to start with the first
2:11
one. So the the first one comes from
2:14
Lancha. Uh and we'll call that manego,
2:17
right? Since it's
2:18
the one that we probably all know and
2:20
have heard from, right? U so it is from
2:22
the Lancha region of Spain. Um it's a
2:25
semih hard uh sheep's milk cheese and it
2:28
has to come from the manega breed of
2:30
sheep,
2:30
which I did not know. I did not know
2:32
that.
2:32
I didn't know there was a breed of sheep
2:33
even. So
2:34
no, we are learning a lot about the
2:35
different breeds of um sheep and pigs
2:38
and cows in these episodes, which is
2:40
very interesting. We may get into animal
2:42
husbandry by the time this is all over.
2:48
But it is it is a semi-h hard cheese,
2:49
but it's not hard. You can slice it. You
2:51
can chew into it, but it is it has a
2:54
firm texture, right? And um with a
2:56
little bit of a bite, I would say
2:58
there's a little bit of a bite.
2:59
It's there's a variety of them because
3:01
we'll get into that later. There are a
3:03
variety depending on how long it's been
3:04
aged. But this is the one I would say
3:07
this is your basic cheese which is
3:08
probably why it's the one that's been
3:09
exported possibly more. I mean you'll
3:12
find like you said you found it in
3:13
Trader Joe's. I mean this is a nice
3:15
cheese that your kids will eat that you
3:17
like. You can put it in a sandwich like
3:18
it's just flexible.
3:21
Right. Right. And and it's a and it's a
3:23
youngest cheese. It's age from 60 days
3:25
to two years. So
3:27
the next spot is um the next cheese is a
3:30
cabales. And that I I do love a good
3:33
blue cheese. I don't know about you. Um,
3:36
yeah. So, obviously blue cheese has more
3:38
of a specific usage, but this is a very
3:40
strong blue cheese from the Asurorius
3:42
region. And this one is, I think, very
3:45
interesting because they are aging it in
3:47
natural caves that are located in the
3:51
Picos Europa Mountains in Atorias. And
3:55
they have those caves have a natural
3:57
like high humidity and cool
3:59
temperatures. So, that makes it really
4:00
good for for creating this strong
4:03
flavor. and the blue veins and all the
4:04
delicious stuff that
4:06
for the bacteria to grow and thrive and
4:08
take over. Yeah.
4:09
Yeah. I'm still in search for really
4:11
good cracker because I the thing I love
4:13
about a good blue cheese is a really
4:15
good cracker. Like if you get those two
4:16
things combined, now you're in business.
4:19
And we've talked before I think about
4:21
Spain lacking its cracker selection.
4:25
Got to go to fancier places, I think.
4:28
And it's you but it is usually this this
4:30
cheese is usually a cow's milk, right?
4:32
But they do do a blend, I think.
4:34
Yeah. And then the blends, as you can
4:35
imagine, the blends are stronger. Once
4:38
you start blending the I think the cow's
4:40
milk is probably the least flavorful in
4:42
general, and then you get to goats milk,
4:44
they have more flavor. So, when you
4:45
start blending all these different
4:46
milks, you get a different flavor and
4:48
you get a more rich flavor.
4:49
That would make sense to me, too.
4:51
And if we're going to continue on um
4:54
with Jesus,
4:55
let's do that.
4:56
in the in the in the northern region of
4:58
the Basque country. Um, we have I'm
5:02
going to butcher this and maybe if I try
5:04
it with my my sexy voice to make it
5:07
sound better. Yeah,
5:09
that sounds good. Is
5:11
that
5:14
someone can help us with that one?
5:16
Now, that's a hard smoked uh sheep milk
5:19
cheese. Um, so actually, yeah, since I
5:22
said smoked, I bet it has a smoky nutty
5:24
flavor. I bet it does.
5:28
But it's a it's a um a pressed cheese,
5:31
which is I guess that you apply pressure
5:35
between the curds. You want to explain?
5:38
This was interesting to me because I
5:39
didn't know I I didn't know what it was
5:41
called. I mean, I assumed obviously it's
5:42
made differently, but if you have a a a
5:44
harder cheese, they've they've pressed
5:46
it when they're making it. They're
5:48
pressing the crud so that it separates
5:50
out and then you get more moisture out
5:53
when you do that. And that creates a
5:54
firmer texture and a shape. So these
5:57
harder cheeses are pressed cheeses
5:59
basically. That's how they end up being
6:01
harder. And this particular cheese also
6:04
comes from specific sheep that are up in
6:07
the Nav regions of Spain. Go
6:10
now. Let's see you.
6:11
I was going to make you do it.
6:14
So we have an X in here. I don't know
6:15
how to So Laxa Laxia
6:18
sheep
6:19
or latcha, right? Right. is the X is
6:23
pronounced silent. That's
6:25
sometimes the X is silent or a sound.
6:27
So there's a latcher sheep and a
6:29
karanana sheep. So those are two types
6:32
of sheep that are found up in the B
6:34
country that this particular cheese
6:36
which we won't pronounce again needs to
6:37
come from.
6:41
Oh, the next one's funny.
6:42
Can we say this?
6:44
I don't know. Let's see if we can tiptoe
6:46
around this. It's called a tatia cheese.
6:49
Um, it is known for its shape which
6:52
looks like
6:53
to it looks like a Hershey's kiss also
6:56
to also more pro more well known as
7:00
small bosom. There you go.
7:02
Small bosom. That's what it's supposed
7:03
to look like. And a tatilla is I mean
7:07
probably a small
7:09
small bosom. That's what it means.
7:11
Exactly.
7:12
Look at your cute little tortilla.
7:15
So, this is a um it is unique for its
7:18
shape that they've formed the whole
7:20
thing, but it is a semi soft um
7:23
Okay. So, you have soft cheeses and hard
7:27
cheeses and then you have semi soft
7:28
cheeses and semi-h hard cheeses. And the
7:30
semi soft and the semi-h hard are
7:32
different. This is a semi soft. So, it's
7:33
more in the soft direction.
7:36
It's in the soft spectrum and not the
7:37
hard spectrum.
7:38
And also made from cows. And this comes
7:40
from the Galysia region of Spain.
7:43
And it could only be made from three
7:45
breeds of cows. Um, which is your
7:47
holene, your Swiss brown, or your Rubia
7:50
Ga.
7:51
There you don't know what that that must
7:53
be. That must be a Spanish cow, right?
7:55
So they have one Spanish cow, the
7:57
other's Swiss, and the other's I don't
7:58
know.
8:00
Olstein. How's that?
8:01
Northern.
8:02
Northern. I know it's from a northern
8:03
place.
8:04
Yes. Um, and so that has a unique uh
8:07
look and it's it's quite it's quite a
8:09
good gifting cheese because it is kind
8:11
of unique looking.
8:12
Um, and that it it is a quite it's it's
8:15
produced a lot. I think in there's
8:17
upwards of two million units of these
8:19
produced a year. So that's sort of quite
8:22
a number that would seem that being
8:24
going to market.
8:25
That would seem like a lot. I have no
8:26
idea what a lot is for cheese, but that
8:28
would to me seem like a lot as well. For
8:31
sure. Um, do you want to carry on with
8:34
the next one?
8:35
But right, but we didn't say that. This
8:37
this cheese is more of like a dessert
8:39
cheese, right? It's like what you would
8:41
put on a cheese plate after
8:43
dinner, right? It's more of a it's a
8:46
digestive tea, right?
8:49
Yeah, something like that. If you're not
8:51
for ice cream, if you're one of those
8:52
cheese people.
8:54
That's true.
8:55
So, that brings us to our ma uh or ma
8:59
minor minorca cheese. I'm gonna think I
9:02
pronounced that. Just Minora,
9:04
which is a is a is a pressed cow's milk
9:06
cheese from Minorca. But what's cool
9:08
about this is it has a six-sided shape.
9:10
We have rounded edges. So, it's um but
9:14
six-sided hexagon, right? So, it's a
9:16
hexagon but rounded
9:17
but rounded because they're using a mold
9:18
so they can make them all like exactly
9:21
sort of the same. And it has a that is
9:24
the shape of that type of cheese. And I'
9:25
I've noticed this around especially with
9:27
just the last one we talked about. Some
9:28
cheeses just are always made in a
9:30
certain shape. It has nothing to do, I
9:32
don't think, with the flavor of the
9:33
cheese, but it's what makes them
9:34
distinctive. And this one also has a ve
9:37
which I have seen this one. It has a
9:38
very distinctive orange rind. And that
9:40
is because they're they're rubbing the
9:42
cheese with olive oil and sometimes
9:44
paprika during the aging process. So, it
9:46
is a it is one that is easy to notice
9:48
when you're looking at the all the
9:50
cheeses and to see what this one is.
9:53
Agreed.
9:53
Agreed.
9:55
Agreed. And the last one is the which I
9:58
think I haven't actually tried this one
10:00
but it sounds very special and I now
10:02
want to try it. It's called the tota del
10:04
tasa which is literally like a a thesiz
10:07
cake. Um and this one is a cheese that
10:11
is with a it's it's got a hard edge a
10:15
hard r a hard rind around the edges but
10:18
then it's creamy in the middle and it's
10:20
made from sheep's milk. So, this one is
10:23
like what you would imagine your really
10:26
really fragrantly on the verge of
10:28
stinking really badly French cheeses.
10:30
It's one that will spoil all the food in
10:32
your refrigerator. I actually have had
10:34
this back in New York years ago and it
10:37
it it will it'll stink up, you know,
10:39
it'll stink up your peaches, that's for
10:41
sure.
10:41
Yeah. this one, which I I kind of like
10:43
this idea is you kind of chop off the
10:45
top and then you use the top to make it
10:47
a lid again, but you take it off and you
10:49
just basically dip out of it, which I
10:51
think is like really cool. And this one
10:53
is made in the north of the Sam San
10:55
Pedro mountain range in the providence
10:58
of Catheras in Spain. And it is there
11:02
are actually 36 municipalities in this
11:05
whole region that are allowed to make
11:07
this cheese. But again, like all the
11:09
other ones, they're all very specific to
11:11
the region. So you can't just be making
11:13
one of these cheeses in some other place
11:14
and calling it that, you know,
11:17
right? You know, that's very popular in
11:19
Europe, right? Like champagne can only
11:20
come from Champagne and Dijon mustard
11:22
can only come from Dijon. So we have and
11:24
we discussed we talked about Haman.
11:26
Certain Hammons can only be called that
11:28
if they come from that region and
11:30
Right. Exactly.
11:31
They're very strict and I love it. I
11:32
mean, but they're very regulated, so you
11:34
know what you're doing.
11:34
Yeah. So, yeah, if you go back and
11:36
listen to our um prao about Hmon, it's
11:38
it's very similar and it's it's it is
11:40
very interesting, but I like it. It
11:42
creates a a unique aspect to all of them
11:44
and and you and often, you know, with
11:47
these types of things with the cheese
11:48
and with the hem, you know, it's based
11:50
on the reason why the reason why it's so
11:52
specific is it's based on what these
11:54
animals are eating and that's creating a
11:56
flavor in the milk that is then used for
11:57
the cheese or for the hemmon. So, you
12:00
can't just take this animal and put it
12:02
somewhere else. It's just not going to
12:03
be the same.
12:04
And is there a breed of sheep that can
12:06
only make this cheese?
12:07
No. Well, this one is only from the
12:11
Entrafina sheep. So, that's another
12:13
breed of sheep. So, we've learned a lot.
12:14
We could do a poor pogo about the breed
12:16
of sheep is in the sheep in this
12:18
country. I think
12:20
I think we need a field trip to like a
12:21
sheep farm and be like, "Show us all
12:22
your sheep and tell us."
12:23
Well, I think one thing we've learned is
12:25
that maybe they're not all in one place.
12:27
That might be the problem. It would be a
12:29
tour.
12:30
I'm I'm I'm up for a countrywide road
12:32
trip. That's
12:33
So to conclude cheeses, I think we have
12:36
just the last thing is just to go over
12:38
the different names for the different
12:40
agings of the cheeses. So the first one,
12:43
the the most basic cheese that is never
12:45
really aged is the queso fresco, which
12:48
is something that people might be
12:49
familiar with. This is a completely
12:50
unaged cheese. doesn't have a lot of
12:52
flavor, but it is used a lot in the
12:55
cooking here. Like probably in, you
12:57
know, just for it's something that is
13:00
very popular for putting on things. It's
13:02
a basic cheese.
13:05
Okay. I mean, I know of it from Latin
13:07
cuisine that use it for the tacos and
13:09
enchiladas and, you know, from from from
13:12
that.
13:12
Yeah. Because you don't want something
13:13
with a ton of flavor. It's something
13:14
that adds the cheesy texture without
13:16
adding a lot of cheesy flavor. And then
13:18
you have your tiero, which is literally
13:20
means the your tender cheese, tender
13:23
cheese.
13:25
And now the la the last three is what
13:27
you're going to start to see if you're
13:29
looking for like like a manego cheese or
13:31
one of these hard cheeses. You're going
13:33
to maybe start to see these names with
13:36
the um with the cheese, which is
13:39
semicurdo. Like you see that a lot. So
13:41
that is your
13:42
that is your sort of aged but not for
13:44
very long. So this might a semi a
13:46
semicurado cheese if you find it in the
13:48
grocery store in a cheese counter is
13:49
probably going to be one that now has a
13:51
little bit of aging and it's going to
13:53
taste a little bit more flavorful, but
13:55
it's still a mild cheese. You know, you
13:57
can still give it to your kids. It's
13:59
still something you can put in a
14:00
sandwich, that type of thing.
14:02
It's going to be very meltable. You
14:04
know, you're going to use this for your
14:05
your grilled cheeses, your mac and
14:06
cheeses kind of thing.
14:08
Um and then you have your curado, which
14:10
is your hard age cheeses. in these, you
14:12
know, the the harder the longer it ages,
14:15
it's going to bring out strong flavors
14:17
and aromomas. And this is usually about
14:18
4 to 11 months, but they're, you know,
14:22
they're strong, um, but they can be
14:24
eaten by a lot of people, right? It's
14:26
not like, you know, it's not one of
14:27
these ones that a lot of people will be
14:29
adverse to, right? So now you have a
14:31
little bit more flavor, but it's still
14:33
it's still your basic. It's still kind
14:34
of a basic change. And then you have the
14:36
VJO reserva. So the VJO means old. This
14:39
is when you're getting into more than a
14:41
year up to two years now you're really
14:43
starting to get flavor. So these are
14:44
probably they're going to be more
14:45
flavorful more expensive as well.
14:48
Right. I would say if I may throw this
14:50
in like this is kind of like a way to
14:51
explain it like if you've if you're not
14:53
from here and like Gouda Gouda is one of
14:56
those cheeses like in America it's a
14:58
very soft cheese and can be rock hard.
15:00
So this is like how the different curing
15:02
stages, right? You're like, "How can one
15:04
cheese be five different flavor profiles
15:07
and and and hardness?"
15:08
Yeah. And I've seen more hardness levels
15:10
here in the in the hard cheeses. Like
15:12
they have these cheese they have the
15:13
hard cheeses that are that you really
15:15
can slice easily. And then you have ones
15:16
that are almost like a
15:19
a hard bree, you know, where it's like,
15:21
yeah, you can still slice it, but it's
15:24
very soft in its kind of overall
15:26
texture. It's kind of just a different
15:28
thing. Um, so it's interesting. But then
15:30
I've had the hard cheeses here where you
15:32
need a jackhammer to
15:34
get them all.
15:36
Where the whole thing feels like a rice.
15:37
Exactly. Yeah.
15:39
And then there's one of my favorite
15:41
things which is the membrio, the doulce
15:44
debrio, which is this. It's like a quint
15:46
hard quinte that they'll serve with a
15:49
cheese platter. And before I moved here,
15:51
I'm a big quint jelly fan which is a
15:53
hard thing to find and and so I love it.
15:55
When I saw it, I was like, "Oh, that's
15:57
they have this everywhere in blocks
15:59
because it gets they're using it for
16:01
everything, but also slicing it up and
16:03
putting it with cheese plates." So, it's
16:05
a it's you see it literally everywhere.
16:07
It's a block of like red jelly. It was
16:10
what it looks like kind of. And you're
16:12
like, "What is that?" They also call it
16:14
quint cheese. That's another name for
16:16
it. And konat in Catalan. So, there's
16:19
it's just it's Yeah, like you said, very
16:21
delicious. a very bizarre thing when
16:23
you're looking at it because it doesn't
16:24
it's not immediately clear what it's
16:26
used for, but because everyone uses it
16:27
here, no one needs to explain it.
16:30
So, can I tell you my my little tasty
16:33
snack that I do? I take a triangle of
16:36
cheese, one of the like tea or no
16:38
cheeses, and I put I cut off a little
16:41
slice of that and then I wrap a homon
16:43
around it and then I eat that as my
16:44
little
16:45
That does sound really good. So, you got
16:46
a little bit of cheese, a little bit of
16:48
sweet, a little bit of salt and you're
16:50
good to go.
16:51
Yeah.
16:53
That sounds like a Spanish like school
16:54
lunch to me.
16:57
It does. Right.
16:58
Very good. So, we have more cheese
16:59
tasting to go, but I hope this helped
17:01
everybody have a little bit of insight
17:03
into all the delicious cheeses that we
17:05
have here in Spain that you probably
17:06
haven't seen in other countries.
17:08
And I'm going to venture to say we may
17:09
have some more Poco Pooos about this.
17:11
We'll do some I would like to do some
17:12
tastings and maybe we go to a place that
17:15
has some cheeses. So we can just try a
17:17
region or try a type of cheese and all
17:19
of its curados
17:21
and and and get back to you posted. Bye.
17:24
Ciao.
17:29
Thank you for listening to our Spain
17:30
Poco Poco. Since you love us so much,
17:33
please do go on to our social media and
17:35
follow us and like us and subscribe
17:37
where you're listening because it really
17:38
does help us to grow and stick around
17:41
and do what we are very much enjoying
17:43
doing. And you know, give us a shout out
17:45
on the social medias. You know, give us
17:47
a comment on what you would like to hear
17:50
us talk about. I mean, we like to hear
17:52
ourselves speak, but we do want to make
17:54
this, you know, informative for our
17:56
listeners.
17:57
Absolutely. Yeah. You can comment on one
17:59
of our posts or you can send us a
18:00
message through our um our Spain
18:03
Facebook page or Instagram. So, we would
18:05
love to hear from you.
18:06
Yes, we would. Till the next episode.
18:09
Bye.

All

From Ah Spain Podcast

Podcasts