Spain - nice cheese from it

Wallace, of Wallace and Gromit fame, would have a field day shopping in Spanish supermarkets. Especially when he got to the cheese counter. The quantity and choice of cheese on offer in Spain is bewildering.

I've known many people give up and leave the supermarket without cheese. They just find the process of which one to choose mind blowing. So what is on offer? Manchego is, of course, the first choice of many. Mild and semi cured it sells well in Spain and, frankly, I've never understood why. With a couple of notable exceptions, every manchego i have tasted has been bland, tasteless and not worth the price supermarkets charge for it. Clearly I have been going wrong somewhere. My mission to find a manchego that i would want to buy more than once continues. I am determined to find a marvellous manchego.

Cheese divides opinion in Spain like no other regularly bought food. Manchego comes from La Mancha but varies considerably in age and texture. Originally it was made by shepherds using only ewes milk. The hard rind is largely rejected by north Europeans. The Spanish more often eat the rind. Manchego can be nice when coupled with walnuts or a nice quince jelly.

One of the nicest cheeses I have tasted in Spain comes from Zamora, north west of Madrid. Zamorano is the second most popular cheese in Spain and i heartily recommend it. It comes mainly from the breeds of sheep known as Churra. The cheese is ripened for long periods of time in underground cellars. Its darker than usual colour is a result of it being turned regularly and covered with olive oil. It comes in both cured and very cured form and has a higher fat content than many other Spanish cheeses. Zamorano is also saltier than some cheeses. This is achieved by leaving it in highly salted water for a day or two. It is then aged for 3-4 weeks at a moderate temperature before being stored in cold humid caves for six months.

What do i love about the taste of Zamorano cheese? Well, for a start, it tastes of something. Not too strong, but not weak and tasteless.  Great with a glass of wine, as a snack and as a raciones. It has a piquant, nutty and slightly buttery taste that lives on long after you've eaten it. In a nice way that is.  As with all the best cheeses in Spain, its production is protected by the Denominación de Origen (Domination of Origin). Always look out for DO on the covering of any cheese.

One of the tastiest cheeses i have sample was a mixed one and was served to me in El Asador restaurant in Capileira, a pretty village located in the La Alpujarra mountain range near Granada. The Romero Ocana Oveja and Cabra cheese is memorable. Produced from sheep and goats, the addition of rosemary gives this cheese more taste than many similarily processed cheeses. If you like your cheese soft and creamy, look out for Tronchon from a place that also produces great ham, Teruel. If, unlike me, you prefer very strong blue cheese then Cabrales is for you. Seen as the Spanish answer to Roquefort, blue cheese fans rate it highly.

There are over 100 varieties of cheese produced throughout Spain. When you go shopping in a large supermarket you could be forgiven for thinking that figure is actually 1000. Trial and error is the only way to find out which you like. That and the free tastings offered in many supermarkets. Do ask at the counter to taste a sample of a cheese you like the look of. Once you find a Spanish cheese you like you'll never pick up the strong Irish cheddar again.

Especially if your name is Wallace!