Idiazabal cheese tasting, 8 essential points.

Learn how to taste one of the most prized cheeses in Europe, Idiazabal cheese tasting.

From the hand of the Idiazabal Cheese Interpretation Center we have known the secrets of the tasting of this great cheese, one of the most representative designations of origin of the Basque Country. In the Idiazabal cheese workshop that we were fortunate to carry out within the program of Euskadi Gastronomika and Ardoaraba he revealed to us the 8 most important points of the tasting of an Idiazabal cheese. But, before getting into the art of Idiazabal cheese tasting, we are going to mention some of the curiosities that this popular cheese from the Basque Country keeps inside.

Euskadi Gastronomika

What is it? It is a sheep’s cheese made from raw milk (unpasteurized) from the Latxa or Carranzana breeds (native breeds of the Basque Country). The Idiazabal denomination of origin boosted the grazing of latxa sheep in our mountains, thus taking them out of the process of extinction in which they were found.

When did it arise? The Regulatory Council of the Denomination of Origin of Idiazabal Cheese was born in 1987 as a support organization for the shepherd and the authentic Idiazabal cheese producer.

Since when has Idiazabal cheese been produced? Although it was not called Idiazabal cheese, cheeses with these characteristics and method of production have been made in the Basque Country for more than 8,000 years.

Where can it be processed? Although the Gipuzkoan municipality of Idiazabal gave its name to this denomination of origin, this type of cheese can be produced in Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Araba-Alava and Navarra (except for the Roncal valley, which has its own denomination of origin).

How many Idiazabal cheese producers are there today? There are currently more than 150 farmhouses producing this type of cheese throughout the Basque Country and Navarre.

Idiazabal cheese

What are the minimum requirements for Idiazabal cheese?

• Use raw milk from Latxa or Carranzana sheep.
• Minimum maturation period of 2 months.
• Use animal rennet, obtained from the stomach of the suckling lamb.
• Use modern procedures such as replacing wood with stainless steel.

Where can I learn how to make Idiazabal cheese? The Idiazabal cheese production processes are passed down from generation to generation among the shepherds and shepherdesses who live in the mountains of the Basque Country.

Smoked or unsmoked? Although nowadays most of the cheeses that we taste under the Idiazabal denomination of origin are not smoked, in the past, in their origin, all of them were smoked. The explanation for this phenomenon is simple, the shepherd elaborated and matured the cheeses in the same hut where he cooked and lit the fire to be able to keep the heat in the cold winter months, hence the smoking.

Idiazabal cheese, denomination of origin of the Basque Country

• Appearance: It should have a cylindrical and homogeneous shape with slightly flat faces and light gas marks.
• Rind: Uniform yellow color in unsmoked cheeses and dark brown in smoked cheeses.
• Color: Color between ivory and straw yellow, in any case should be homogeneous.
• Eyes: The absence of eyes indicates the quality of Idiazabal cheese, although sometimes it may have small eyes.
• Smell: Weak spicy, more noticeable in smoked products.
• Structure: Elasticity, creaminess, graininess and medium firmness.
• Flavor: Rennet and mature sheep’s milk, a touch of spiciness, without bitterness, somewhat salty and of course smoky flavor in the smoked.
• Aftertaste: Continuity of its characteristic, persistent and pronounced flavor.

Artzai Gazta, Idiazabal

A tasting that, although it seems simple, is complicated when comparing 3 Idiazabal cheeses of different classes, in our case the chosen ones were a young white Idiazabal cheese from the Aramburu cheese factory, a cured white cheese from the same cheese factory and a young smoked cheese from Ondarre. Undoubtedly the latter gave us more play in the tasting, providing an extra touch.

Idiazabal cheese tasting

A tasting that we recommend and that can be done at the Idiazabal cheese interpretation center in the municipality of the same name.