Seven cheeses to eat Aragón in bites
It is Aragon certainly land of great cheese tradition . From the Pyrenees to the Sierra de Albarracín passing through Moncayo, the three Aragonese provinces draw us an appetizing route for **lovers of cheese**.
One of the greguerías of Gomez de la Serna pray like this : “cheese is the immortality of milk”. Well, in many of the cases that we will mention here “the cheese factory represents the immortality of the town”, Since most of them are located in small population centers in which the cheese factory represents a glimpse of economic activity.
Green pastures in the Pyrenees, large extensions of cereal in Zaragoza and Teruel are the sustenance of sheep and goats . Most cheesemakers have their own herds of goats or sheep and can thus control the entire production process.
Sheep in the Aragonese fields
In the Biescas cheese fair it is decided annually which cheese factory holds the title of producing the "Best cheese in Aragon". And some of those that we will mention here are measured in national and even international competitions with the cheeses of their category. Many Aragonese cheesemakers have returned to their land with joy under their arms.
A few years ago, the Teruel Milk and Cheese Producers Association , with the intention of give projection to the activity of small dairies scattered throughout the province. A few months ago they published a beautiful children's book illustrated by John Iranzo about him Teruel cheese which can be downloaded here. .
Below we propose a list of Aragonese cheeses , all from small dairies and all of them handcrafted by fighting men and women.
Sheep illustrated by Juan Iranzo
1.**RIVER VERO, RADIQUERO CHEESES (ADAHUESCA, HUESCA)**
An aromatic (and edible) blue mold (penicilium roqueforti) envelops the soft, whitish paste of this cheese called Rio Vero . Creamy and melting on the palate, they recommend using a lyre to cut it. A cheese that a few years ago won the title of Best Spanish Cheese at the Ministry of Agriculture awards.
Vero River, Radiquero Cheeses
2.**CLOUD, VAL DE CINCA (FONZ, HUESCA) **
The smoothness of its white moldy bark made Pilar Febas, its creator , in the suggestive name of Cloud . "It's like a roller cheese, but instead of being goat's, it's sheep's," Febas told Traveler.es.
Nube is a soft cheese, very melting that becomes more intense and creamy as the days go by. She makes it from the milk of her own sheep and recommends eating it neat, with fig jam or au gratin. Pilar organizes guided tours of her cheese factory every weekend.
Cloud, Val de Cinca
3.**TANET. MORE TANO (FRAGA, HUESCA) **
Is 100% family cheese factory they make different cheeses with the milk provided by their goats. Tanet is the most successful of them. Is it because of the creaminess that hides its rustic exterior look ? Maybe. Tanet is a raw milk cheese with a washed rind that matures between 4 and 6 weeks before going on the market.
Tanet, raw milk cheese and washed rind
4.**FULLER. ARTISAN CHEESES FROM LETUX (LETUX, ZARAGOZA) **
This semi-cured cheese is made from pasteurized goat's milk. It matures about 20 days, being in this period when it develops a natural grayish bark. The interior is a compact paste with a buttery texture.
Founded in 2014, this cheese factory is a case of successful agri-food entrepreneurship in an environment heavily affected by depopulation.
Batanero, a semi-cured cheese made with pasteurized goat's milk
5.**CURED GALINDO ANDRÉS, GALINDO ANDRÉS CHEESE FACTORY (ARÁNDIGA, ZARAGOZA) **
this dairy born at the edge of the new century in the Serranía del Moncayo , has specialized in elaborating raw sheep's milk cheeses , specifically those of their own herd: more than a thousand head of cattle fed with the alfalfa that they themselves grow. Their cured cheese , which has an attractive ivory color, has spent between five and eight months maturing before being released on the market.
Still life of the Galindo Andrés cheese factory
6.**STAR. GOAT FREIXNEDA (LA FRESNEDA, TERUEL) **
Is km.0 cheese factory maintains a small production of cheeses that are consumed in their closest environment. Estrel is one of its most famous labels, rising a few years ago as Best Aragon Cheese in the aforementioned Biescas contest.
East ingot-shaped goat cheese It is characterized by its intense flavor and soft, buttery and melting texture on the palate. It is made with raw milk and later refined in the same cheese factory.
Estrel, goat cheese in the shape of an ingot from the Freixneda de Cabra cheese factory
7.** MINE'S CAVA. SIERRA DE ALBARRACÍN CHEESES (ALBARRACÍN, TERUEL) **
A little over a decade ago, a cheese factory was added to the charms of the beautiful town of Albarracín, focused on making sheep cheeses . The trajectory of this initiative has been unstoppable over the years, even achieving international recognition for its cheeses.
Your last bet is a cellar built in stone where to refine cheeses , a profession deeply rooted in France but unusual in our country. Mia's cellar is a pressed paste cheese made with milk from their own sheep of the Israeli Assaf breed.
Great Aragonese cheeses remain in our cupboards, but we will not close the doors without naming some of them: Tronchón, Saravillo, Santa Eulalia, El Hontanar, La Pardina, El Aljibe, Benabarre or la Val cheeses.
Cava de Mia