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What the heck is ... manchego cheese?
 Manchego (mon-chay-goh) is the signature cheese of Spain. This firm-to-hard, nutty, slightly salty cheese appears on virtually every tapa plate in every bar in Madrid. Manchego cheese is made from 100% ewe's milk from the Manchega breed of sheep. Traditionally, manchego is cut in wedges and served with olives and thin slices of Serrano ham or membrillo quince preserve. It is a classic flavor of Spain. Here at Tapino, Manchego is featured on our "Cheese Experience" small plate, and often shows up as a melted cheese sauce, "fundito". Manchego is produced in a limited region of Spain, South of Madrid, known as La Mancha (hence the name of the indigenous sheep, Manchega, and the resultant cheese, Manchego). Manchego is produced in somewhat standardized wheels about 10 inches in diameter weighing between 6 and 8 pounds. Each Manchego wheel has a distinctive herring-bone pattern on its sides due to the tradition of pressing the raw cheese curds into woven basket molds made from Esparto grass. Manchego is aged a minimum of 60 days, and up to 20 months. Its flavor and texture ranges from mild & slightly crumbly to sharp and granular, depending on how long it has aged.
Although Manchego-like cheeses have probably been made in central Spain since the time of the Romans, the exact formulas, techniques, and traditions for today's Manchego were formalized in the mid to late 17th century.  La Mancha is a region with a long live-stock breeding tradition. This region is a vast, high, arid plateau, more than 2500 feet above sea level, which extends roughly 135 miles from east to west and about 100 miles, north to south, adjoining the provinces of Toledo, Cuenca, Ciudad Real and Albacete, all in the Castile-La Mancha Autonomous Region southeast of Madrid. An area of more than 13,500 sq. miles, It is made of flat, rocky soils and hills with an extreme continental climate, with cold winters and long dry summers, scarce rainfall, and large daily temperature changes. Muslim "Moors" inhabited the area from the 8th to 11th centuries. They called it "Manyá", meaning "land without water". With time, the name would transform into "Mangla" or "Mancla", and finally "La Mancha" around the 18th century.
 As the Castilian Spaniards drove the Moors Southward, out of the area during the 15th century, dry-land wheat farming became an important agricultural activity in the area. As farming advanced, the efficient use of the pastures, and the need to protect the grain fields from grazing livestock forced the decline of open-range sheep herding. Advancements in farming forced the conversion of sheep-ranchers into becoming both sheep and land farmers, with their attendant fences, barns, and corrals, thus forcing the flocks of sheep to become sedentary. As a result, the production of wool declined, and the live-stock industry began to specialize in the production of meat and cheese. Cheese production became commercialized, and the Manchega breed of sheep became the locally dominant breed for cheese production.
 The Manchega sheep are grazed on the stubble of wheat fields, fallow land and brush fields that give Manchego a unique flavor. Also significant to the final taste and aroma of Manchego is the huge abundance of wild herbs and plants available to the sheep in central Spain. This nutty flavor is often described as fresh and lively with a hard, dry texture. When you taste Manchego for the first time you will be pleasantly surprised at the wonderful lingering effect of these flavors. Manchego Cheese production has been protected by a formal "Denomination de Origin" since 1984. The D.O. stipulates the exclusive use of milk from Manchega sheep, as well as the production process and an aging period of a minimum of 60 days. Manchego comes in two types; the farmhouse type is made with unpasteurized sheep's milk, and the commercial type made with pasteurized milk. Only the pasteurized version is available in the United States. The USDA milk cops do not allow any raw dairy products to enter the USA.
 Manchego is an aged cheese, from semi-cured to cured, made only with milk from Manchega sheep. It is produced through an enzymatic coagulation. The curd is pressed and uncooked. The base milk must have a minimum of 6% butterfat. Occasionally lactic acid and calcium salts are also added. This results in a compact, very dense curd. The curd is then slowly reheated to about 104°F and the liquid whey is drained and the dried curd is put into woven esparto grass basket molds where it is pressed for several hours. The final pressed wheels are salted externally either by rubbing the wheels with dry salt, by immersing the cheese in highly salted water, or by a combination of both methods. The percentage of the salt in the cheese must not be higher than 2.3% after two months of aging. The aging process is done in the fresh air, with a humidity level of 75 to 85%, for at least 60 days. The rind is yellow to a brownish beige color and is inedible (too dry, too tough, too salty). The interior is firm and dense, with a few small unevenly dispersed air bubbles. The interior color is ivory to pale yellow, becoming darker, dryer, and more granular as it ages. The taste is very characteristic, well developed, but not too strong, buttery and slightly piquant, with a sheep milk aftertaste. Most Cheese fans are pleasantly surprised at their first taste of this hard cheese: Rich, full and slightly salty at the finish. Even its aroma has been described as special, suggesting lanolin and roast lamb.
 Manchego cheese is marketed at various stages of maturity from "cured" at 13 weeks to "aged" at more than three months. When buying Manchego cheese, Watch out! the characteristic cylindrical shape and the "basket weave" imprint is copied by many other cheeses that have nothing to do with Manchego. The best recommendation is to always study the label carefully. As a minimum, it should say "queso puro de oveja" (the true Manchego cheese is made only with sheep milk). A stamp of the regulating council "consejo regular" should also be displayed on the label. Raw milk is used in the traditional production process, while industry-made Manchego is made with pasteurized milk. This leads to a significant difference in taste: raw milk cheese has a typical and spicy taste, highly appreciated by the experts.  The pasteurized version is a little more mellow and subdued. The ripening process should take at least 60 days - and the label should also refer to this aging: tierno (soft, young), semi-curado (half-mature), curado (mature) or añejo (very well matured). An aejo cheese should have ripened for more then 16 months. A last recommendation: if you study the label of a Manchego cheese, sometimes the month of manufacture is mentioned, however this is not a labeling requirement. The best quality milk is obtained between February and May, although that doesn't mean that cheeses made during other months aren't wonderfully delicious. Stop by Tapino and try out this wonderful Spanish treat. If you fall in love with it, you can buy your own supply at places like AJ's, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or any specialty cheese shop. Then, you can share your treasure at home with your friends. [of course, we will expect a small royalty payment from each home serving, as our reward for introducing you to this magnificent cheese. - Or better yet, just bring all your friends back to Tapino, and we will serve them their very own ration of Manchego!]
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