Which is your favourite Portuguese cheese?

Portuguese cheese is not something you immediately associate with Portugal, but the country does produce quite a range of cheeses. In the UK we are very familiar with cheeses made from cow’s milk, and while Portugal does produce such cheeses, you are equally likely to find cheeses made from goat and ewe’s milk. This tends to give them strong scents and flavours.

Portuguese cheese is mainly eaten as a course at a meal and cheese does not feature heavily in traditional Portuguese cuisine. For my money it is best enjoyed with a glass of Port, one of Portugal’s great inventions.

Here are some of the cheeses you might find on offer whilst you are in Portugal.

Queijo Serra da Estrela
Queijo Serra da Estrela is probably the best-known Portuguese cheese. Depending on when you eat it, it may have a different consistency. When it is first made, it is soft and creamy inside its outer rind, but as it matures, the cheese inside starts to firm up to a point where it is sliceable. It has a strong smell and an intense flavour. It is slightly sweet and fruity, but with a hint of bitterness and a slightly burnt flavour.

The cheese has been produced for centuries in the mountain region of Serra da Estrela. It is made from fresh ewe’s milk using a strict process and is apparently made only between November and March. It is made by hand in small batches using a type of thistle to coagulate the milk instead of rennet (which is made from cow’s stomach).

Queijo de Serpa
Serpa cheese is made from sheep's milk and comes from the Alentejo region. I’m told that it is made solely from milk of Merino sheep. It is a creamy cheese held together by the rind and is a pale yellow colour. It has a strong scent, is somewhat sweet flavour but is also a little spicy. Like the Serra da Estrela cheese, it has no animal based rennet in it.

Queijo de Castelo Branco
Queijo de Castelo Branco is Potuguese cheese produced in the Beiras region. It is made from either goat’s milk or ewe’s milk and thus has a very intense aroma and flavour. It has very a pale yellow colour and quite soft, but not creamy. It is strong in flavour and quite spicy.

Queijo Sao Jorge
Queijo Sao Jorge comes from the Azores. It is a traditional cheese made from un-pasteurized cow's milk. It is yellow in colour, is strong tasting, quite spicy with peppery undertones. It is a firm cheese full of small and aged longer than most cheeses.

Queijo Rabaçal
This cheese is made from ewe`s milk, which is also sometimes mixed with goat`s milk. best eaten when still soft or semi-hard. From the region of Ansião and Penela, close to Coimbra.

Queijos de Niza
From the Alentejo, Queijo de Nisa is a ewe’s milk cheese. It is made from the milk of Merino sheep, with thistle used to make the milk curdle, as with the Queijo Serra da Estrela. Niza has a semi-soft texture with small holes. It is quite yellow in colour. It has a strong flavour which is a little acidic in taste.

Queijo d’Amarelo
Queijo d’Amarelo is a Portuguses cheese from the Beira Baixa region of Portugal. It is a cheese made from un-pasteurized sheep's milk. It has quite a deistictive aroma and a very strong flavour. Perhaps and acquired taste, although I find it very palatable.

Queijo de Bica
Queijo de Bica is a blend of cow’s milk, goat’s milk, and sheep's milk. It is a smooth texture, and is milder than many of its counterparts, with a slightly salty butter flavour and is very enjoyable.

Queijo d’Azeitao
This is an un-pasteurized Portuguese cheese made from ewe’s milk, with thistle rennet.is handcrafted with thistle flower instead of animal rennet. It is a smooth and creamy soft cheese with a strong scent. Its flavour is somewhat sour with hints of herbs.

Queijo de Terrincho
This is a ewe’s milk cheese. It is straw coloured with a soft, smooth rye flavour.