Home Cheese, dairy and eggs Roncal cheese, the great treasure of Navarra

Roncal cheese, the great treasure of Navarra

Have you ever heard of the Roncal cheese? Or better yet, have you been lucky enough to try it? This cheese was the first to receive the Protected Designation of Origin for the cheese category in Spain, in the year 1981. With this seal you can already imagine the quality of the food, but today we are going to delve into its flavor and history. Do you want to know more about this product with PDO? Come find out.

The best cheese in Navarra

Roncal cheese is made from pressed paste and is made with raw milk from sheep of the breeds Rasa y Lacha and cross F-1 Menhaden X Milchschaf. It is a fat product, entirely natural, obtained from the milking of those healthy sheep that feed on pastures and forages. This delicious product has the typical cylindrical shape and its crust is hard, thick, rough to the touch, fat and straw-colored. This is achieved with a minimum maturation of four months, which later give this cheese a characteristic aroma and flavor.

Roncal cheese
Roncal cheese plate | Source: Reynogourmet.com

The elaboration of Roncal cheese always follow the same steps and it is important that you know them to know why this product is unique in Spain and Europe. The first step you go through is the cuajado, in second place is the desuered, here the whey is separated from the curd; the third is the cut into blocks; after the molded; and finally, the three key steps, the pressing, whose function is to provide the cheese with its final shape and form the rind; the salty, where the cheeses are placed in a dense and fresh brine (salted water) for at least 30 hours; and the maturationIn this last step, the cheese is kept for about 40 days in the first maturing room (at 12ºC) and then it goes to a second cooler room (7ºC) and with less humidity, where it is kept for about 2 months.

Roncal Valley, the cradle of this cheese

As you may already know, food products with the DOP seal originate from a specific place and in the case of Roncal cheese, the area of ​​production of its milk, its elaboration and maturation is constituted by the municipalities of Uztarroz, Isaba, Urzainqui, Roncal, Garde, Vidángoz and Burgui. All of these form the Roncal Valley of Navarra.

valley
Roncal Valley | Source: Reynogourmet.com

El Roncal Valley Not only is it the cradle of the cheese it gives its name, but it is one of the few landscapes where you can still appreciate the beauty of the intact nature. In this Pyrenean valley of Navarra grazing has always existed and already in the Middle Ages, with the arrival of the first snows, a ritual began that is still maintained today: the migration. This is the time when the sheep come down to the warm lands of the Royal Bardenas in search of grass for the winter.

The elaboration of Roncal cheese totally craft, following the traditional method, and its composition does not include elements other than milk, animal rennet and salt, so that it has never lost its characteristic flavor and aroma.

sheep
Latxas Sheep | Source: Reynogourmet.com

Roncal cheese, PDO since 1981

El Regulatory Council is in charge of promoting, investigating and controlling the production of Roncal cheese, ensuring the quality of the product through strict controls carried out by laboratories. In addition, this product is covered by the brand Gourmet King, benchmark seal of agri-food products with quality certification from Navarre, where in addition to highlighting the characteristics of this cheese, they point out its multiple properties.

Some of those are the high content in football what it has and the presence of vitamin D, phosphorus and fats. Likewise, it can be taken by people with lactose intolerance, since in the manufacturing process, lactose is transforming into lactic acid.

Roncal cheese
Roncal cheese cut | Source: Reynogourmet.com

Its place of origin and its origin from the aforementioned sheep breeds are just some of the characteristics that make this a unique product and worthy of the DOP seal. Therefore, if you are a cheese lover, you have to give yourself the luxury of enjoying the texture and flavor of the cheese. Roncal cheese, the great Navarrese cheese treasure. You can get it in cheese shops or supermarkets like The English Court o Carrefour.

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