Tête de Moine AOP - Swiss cheese

Cured cheese

Fresh cheese does not take any time to mature, it is a soft cheese, with a high percentage of water. Due to these characteristics is more easily contaminated and deteriorated. Cured cheese is just the opposite.

For a cheese to be considered 'cured cheese', it must have matured for at least 4 to 7 months. This type of cheese contains very little water and is therefore very fatty and has a strong taste, highly enhanced by this maturation. Apart from this type of cheese, there are also so-called 'old cheeses' which are made with a curing period of more than seven months.

Apart from this, one of the most popular types of cheese in Spanish cuisine is semi-cured cheese, a midway point between the soft texture of fresh cheese and the intense flavours of cured cheese. For a cheese to be 'semi-cured', it must have matured for at least 35 days, which means that the taste of the milk can be fully enjoyed, especially when it is made from sheep's milk.

Curiosities of the Tête de Moine AOP

The designation of origin and the particular scraping that gives rise to the 'Tête de Moine flowers' are protected by law from imitation.

It is made from cow's milk grazed outdoors, the herbs and flowers that graze these animals is what gives it that special flavor and smell.

The literal translation of its name 'Tète de Moine' means 'Monk's head' and is due to the similarity of the scraping of the cheese with the haircut of the monks who produced it.

They were the monks themselves, trying not to notice the wear of the cheese in the assaults on the pantries, who discovered that scraping it acquired a better taste by contact with the air.

To enjoy the best taste of Tête de Moine there is a special slicer called Girolle. This professional machine makes it possible to make flower-shaped shavings by turning a blade that scrapes it around a shaft inserted in the centre of the cheese.

Ingredients: Raw cow's milk, rennet, salt and lactic ferments
Net weight: approx. 900 grams
Origin: Switzerland
Conservation: In cold with temperatures between 4 and 8ºC.