Azeitão is a DOP protected, handcrafted, unpasteurised sheep's milk cheese made at the foothills of the Arrábida Mountains in the south west of Portugal. It is a produced only in the demarcated municipalities of Setubal, Palmela and Sesimbra.

Azeitão is a cured cheese, of a buttery, pudding-like, semi-soft consistency, white or light yellow in colour, with few or no holes. Since the flower of the locally grown cardoon plant acts as a coagulant, it is truly a vegetarian cheese. Its taste has a mix of sour and salty with a continual herbaceousness. The cheese has a minimum curing time of 21 days.

Azeitao

Queijaria Simões

Serra da Estrela (Queijo Serra da Estrela) is the king of Portuguese cheese and has been made for centuries by shepherds in the mountains of Serra da Estrela in the Beira region. The cheese is entirely hand-made, in the literal sense of the term, as the curds are broken up by hand and not cut up with an implement as is usually the case. Serra da Estrela is so soft that it is almost spreadable. It has a rich, perfumed intensity as a result of the superb grazing, and the sweet, slightly burnt coffee character of the sheep's milk comes through on the finish. The affinage takes 30 to 40 days.

Serra da Estrela

Casa Matias

São Jorge is a Portuguese cheese from an island of the same name, located 900 miles from the west coast of Portugal and part of Azores archipelago. Made from raw cow’s milk, São Jorge is a robust, aged cheese ripened for between three and seven months before being sold in the market. Although the cheese is made by three dairies on the island, only one has received the special DOP status. The DOP cheese is matured for a minimum of 90 days but the wheels can be sold at different ages; three, four or seven months.
São Jorge has a firm, slightly waxy texture that envelops an open, straw-coloured paste. Flavours are mild, full and buttery with an underlying tang that becomes more obvious with age. São Jorge works well in dishes where robust flavours are needed.

Best Portuguese Cheese

Azeitao

Serra da Estrela

São Jorge

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