Queijo de Azeitão

The Queijo de Azeitão , often just Azeitão , is a Portuguese semi-hard cheese made from sheep's milk . It takes its name from the municipality of Azeitão . The manufacturing process hardly differs from that of Queijo Serra da Estrela , both are not mixed with rennet but with a coagulant from the stamens of a regional form of Cynara cardunculus . Queijo de Azeitão has been a protected designation of origin since 1996 . Production may only take place in the municipalities of Setúbal , Palmela and Sesimbra in the Península de Setúbal sub-region south of Lisbon.

properties

Queijo de Azeitão from three different producers

The Queijo de Azeitão is a small, round cheese with a diameter of 5 to 11 centimeters and a height of 2 to 6 centimeters and a weight between 100 and 250 grams. It has a yellow dough that has only a few small holes and is apparently reminiscent of a pudding .

The slightly sour and salty, slightly bitter and very spicy taste shows notes of grass, herbs and nuts and is described as rich and unique. As with other raw milk cheeses, the microflora is very diverse, with species such as Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus casei dominating . The fat content is 45% fat in dry matter. , and the pH 6.0 to 6.2 after about 20 days of ripening.

history

The history of the Queijo de Azeitão is similar to that of the Portuguese Queijo Serra da Estrela and the Spanish Torta del Casar , all three cheeses are not thickened by adding rennet , but with a watery plant extract.

Jews have been recorded on the Iberian Peninsula as early as the first century BC . The spread of cheeses thickened with the use of vegetable enzymes follows the Jewish migration movements conspicuously and it is believed that this form of cheese-making was developed by Jews. The background is the Jewish dietary law to strictly separate meat and milk: "You should not cook a kid in its mother's milk" ( Ex 23.19 EU and Dtn 14.21 EU ). The rennet obtained from slaughtered animals was excluded as an ingredient in cheese, whereas milk treated with vegetable enzymes was considered kosher. Another incentive for developing this technique could have been the scarcity of lab. On the one hand, the slaughter of the milk-sucking lambs was an economic disadvantage compared to their rearing. In addition, fresh rennet was only available in the spring after lambing, and there was a shortage for the rest of the year. The year-round available thistle Cynara cardunculus made cheese production easier.

The plant enzymes cyprosin and cardosin have a similar effect to the chymosin contained in rennet . However, they have a lower yield than rennet and the cheese has a comparatively bitter taste. In addition, their effect is difficult to calculate due to the seasonal and other fluctuations in the content in the plants. With the reliable availability of animal rennet, many milk producers gave up traditional methods and produced their cheese with rennet. As the appreciation of regional products increased, the traditional methods became popular again. In addition, industrially produced plant extracts are available today, which have a consistent quality.

Queijo de Azeitão has been a protected designation of origin since 1996 . Production may only take place in the municipalities of Setúbal , Palmela and Sesimbra in the Península de Setúbal sub-region south of Lisbon. Around the year 2000 the annual production was about 29 tons.

Manufacturing

The Azeitão is made from raw milk from sheep of the Portuguese Saloia, Bordaleira, Friserra or Merino sheep . After the sheep's milk, heated to 30 to 32 ° C, has been salted and mixed with an extract from the stamens of a regional form of Cynara cardunculus to curdle it, the milk is left to rest for about 40 minutes. The curd is then cut, filled into molds and pressed by hand to remove the whey . The molds are lined with a fine cloth, which gives the finished cheese a unique surface structure.

The maturation of the Azeitão takes place in two stages. First, the cheese wheels are stored for about ten days at room temperature and a humidity of 90 to 95 percent. During this first phase, the cheese wheels are turned daily and washed with brine or drinking water, which creates a viscous smear on the rind. During the second ripening phase, which lasts two or three weeks, the cheeses are stored at 10 to 15 ° C and a humidity of 85 to 90 percent. During this period they are turned and washed several times.

consumption

The Queijo de Azeitão goes well on a cheese platter. One way to prepare it as a starter is to open the cheese loaf at the top to fill the cheese batter into small cream puffs and serve sprinkled with oregano . A farmer's bread with a nutty taste and a white wine like the Alvarinho or a red wine like the Tempranillo go well with the Azeitão .

Web links

Commons : Queijo de Azeitão - collection of images, videos and audio files

Department of Cheese of Azeitão (English, Adobe Flash Player required)

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f J. Marcelino Kongo, F. Xavier Malcata: Azeitão . In: Catherine Donnelly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Cheese . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-933088-1 , pp. 53 .
↑ ^a ^b Juliet Harbutt (Ed.): World Cheese Book . Dorling Kindersley, London a. a. 2009, ISBN 978-0-7566-5442-9 , pp. 167 .
^ ^A ^b J. Marcelino Kongo, F. Xavier Malcata: Portugal . In: Catherine Donnelly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Cheese . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-933088-1 , pp. 581-583 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Cristina Freitas, F. Xavier Malcata: Microbiology and Biochemistry of Cheeses with Appélation d'Origine Protegée and Manufactured in the Iberian Peninsula from Ovine and Caprine Milks . In: Journal of Dairy Science . tape 83 , no. 3 , 2000, pp. 584-602 , doi : 10.3168 / jds.S0022-0302 (00) 74918-6 .
^ J. Marcelino Kongo, F. Xavier Malcata: Serra da Estrela . In: Catherine Donnelly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Cheese . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-933088-1 , pp. 647 .
↑ Jim Wallace: Torta del Casar . In: Catherine Donnelly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Cheese . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-933088-1 , pp. 717-718 .
↑ ^a ^b Jessica AB Galen: plant-derived coagulants . In: Catherine Donnelly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Cheese . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-933088-1 , pp. 572-573 .
↑ Marie-Hélène Famelart: rennet . In: Catherine Donnelly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Cheese . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-933088-1 , pp. 612-615 .
↑ Regulation (EC) No. 1107/96 of the Commission of June 12, 1996 on the registration of geographical indications and designations of origin in accordance with the procedure under Article 17 of Regulation (EEC) No. 2081/92 of the Council , accessed on January 19, 2020
↑ AC Freitas, AC Macedo, FX Malcata: Technological and organoleptic issues pertaining to cheeses with denomination of origin manufactured in the Iberian Peninsula from ovine and caprine milks . In: Food Science and Technology International . tape 6 , no. 5 , 2000, pp. 351-370 , doi : 10.1177 / 108201320000600502 .

[Kongo_2016a-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f J. Marcelino Kongo, F. Xavier Malcata: Azeitão . In: Catherine Donnelly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Cheese . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-933088-1 , pp. 53 .

[Harbutt_2009-2] Juliet Harbutt (Ed.): World Cheese Book . Dorling Kindersley, London a. a. 2009, ISBN 978-0-7566-5442-9 , pp. 167 .

[Kongo_2016b-3] A ^b J. Marcelino Kongo, F. Xavier Malcata: Portugal . In: Catherine Donnelly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Cheese . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-933088-1 , pp. 581-583 .

[Freitas_2000a-4] Cristina Freitas, F. Xavier Malcata: Microbiology and Biochemistry of Cheeses with Appélation d'Origine Protegée and Manufactured in the Iberian Peninsula from Ovine and Caprine Milks . In: Journal of Dairy Science . tape 83 , no. 3 , 2000, pp. 584-602 , doi : 10.3168 / jds.S0022-0302 (00) 74918-6 .

[Kongo_2016c-5] J. Marcelino Kongo, F. Xavier Malcata: Serra da Estrela . In: Catherine Donnelly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Cheese . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-933088-1 , pp. 647 .

[Wallace_2016-6] Jim Wallace: Torta del Casar . In: Catherine Donnelly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Cheese . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-933088-1 , pp. 717-718 .

[Galen_2016-7] Jessica AB Galen: plant-derived coagulants . In: Catherine Donnelly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Cheese . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-933088-1 , pp. 572-573 .

[Famelart_2016-8] Marie-Hélène Famelart: rennet . In: Catherine Donnelly (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Cheese . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2016, ISBN 978-0-19-933088-1 , pp. 612-615 .

[EU_1996-9] Regulation (EC) No. 1107/96 of the Commission of June 12, 1996 on the registration of geographical indications and designations of origin in accordance with the procedure under Article 17 of Regulation (EEC) No. 2081/92 of the Council , accessed on January 19, 2020

[Freitas_2000b-10] AC Freitas, AC Macedo, FX Malcata: Technological and organoleptic issues pertaining to cheeses with denomination of origin manufactured in the Iberian Peninsula from ovine and caprine milks . In: Food Science and Technology International . tape 6 , no. 5 , 2000, pp. 351-370 , doi : 10.1177 / 108201320000600502 .