IDENTIFY A PROPER MANCHEGO CHEESE

Sometimes you can find in the supermarkets Manchego cheese that are not the real ones.
So, don’t let be cheated with this tip to identify a proper Manchego cheese.

• The Manchego cheese has to be grown in some areas of Castilla la Mancha such as Albacete, Toledo, Ciudad real and Cuenca.

• The sheep has to be the race of Manchega.

• There are three types of cheese:

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- The cured (curado): cured for a minimum of 3 months.
- The semi-cured (semi-curado): cured for a minimum of 6 months.
- The gran reserve: cured for a minimum of 9 months.

• It has to be a label that says: ‘QUESO MANCHEGO’, ‘Denominación de origen’.

In Spain we like to eat it as an appetizer with a bit of olive oil, with tapas, in a salad…
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My favourite Manchego cheese is from Dehesa de los llanos, Albacete, there they make also wine, walnuts, honey, herbs…, This cheese has won some awards like ‘the best cheese of the word’ in 2012, the super gold, and run out in the Wisconsin.
I love to eat it with a cup of red wine! What is your favourite way?