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What the heck is ... Valdeón cheese??
 For
thousands of years Spanish farmers have produced some of the finest cheeses
in the world and the traditional techniques they employed have combined
with modern agricultural methods to ensure the continued success of Spanish
cheese. The unique landscape, flora and production techniques of each
small farming district create an almost never ending range of cheeses.
In the northern Asturias region, they make the incomparably assertive
Cabrales. It is a pungent, earthy cheese whose salty, piquant flavor knocks
your socks off and rolls up your pant leg to boot. A truly serious stinky
cheese! In nearby Leon, the locals also like their cheese to have some
character. Their contribution is Valdeón, a bold, creamy blue that
is ever-so-slightly tamer than its neighbor. To be sure, Valdeón
is no wimp. Its ivory colored paste is full of those signature blue veins,
and its complex taste is at once sharp, and salty, and creamy
It's usually made from cow's milk, but in the Spanish style, producers
often mix in goat and sheep milk. Wheels of Valdeón come wrapped
in Sycamore leaves. Besides enhancing its appearance, the leaf-wrap adds
yet another subtle flavor undertone to the cheese. 
Valdeón cheese is made in Posada de Valdeón, (hence its
name) in the Castile-Leon region of Northwestern Spain. In the realm of
Spanish blue cheeses, Cabrales has all the fame, but many tasters prefer
Valdeón. Valdeón could well be called “Cabrales lite”,
a milder, creamier and more approachable product. Valdeón has an
excellent balance of sweetness and tang, and is buttery to the taste,
very aromatic with a nice earthiness at the finish. A cheese lovers cheese!
Valdeón is a mixed- milk cheese. After the curds form, they're
inoculated with Penicillium spores to initiate the blue veining.
Then the curds are cut smaller, drained and molded under light pressure.
Once they are firm enough to unmold, the wheels are salted and pierced
with needles to create the air channels where the blue veins will form.
Here lies the main difference between Valdeón and Cabrales. Cabrales
is not pressed into its molds and therefore the curd is looser, with more
spaces between particles for the mold to grow in. And, Cabrales is not
pierced with needles. The piercing is needed for Valdeón because
the curds are packed more tightly together and need air passages for the
mold to grow.  At Tapino we often use Cabrales as our preferred Spanish
Blue cheese. Occasionally we will switch to Valdeón, just for the
hell of it, and maybe to entice a few more friends to try this slightly
less intimidating cheese. Valdeón was named best blue cheese in
Spain's 2003 national competition and pairs well with wines made from
the gamay grape, such as Beaujolais cru and Muscat or with most any Spanish
sherry. This cheese is delicious with smoked and cured meats and is divine
melted on top of a grilled steak.
Valdeón is made all year round. It has a rough, irregular rind
in dark grey shades with little red and bluish marks. The paste has a
soft texture and pale yellow color and is full of small cavities where
a white and greenish blue mold is concentrated. Its flavor is salty, pronounced,
piquant and long lasting. Valdeón is greasy and buttery on the
tongue, and very aromatic. The origin of Valdeón cheese is very
ancient. The area for making Valdeón cheese is concentrated in
the Valdeón valley, in the mountains of the Picos de Europa. The
milk for Valdeón may be raw or pasteurized. Raw-milk wheels age
at least two months; pasteurized versions get a minimum of a month and
a half.  Maturation takes place in mountain caves along the Cantabrian
Sea where the air is cool and at least 85 percent humidity. Valdeón
is less intense and has fewer blue veins than Cabrales because the Valdeón
caves are a little drier than the Cabrales caves less than 40 miles away.
At the retail level, these two cheeses are occasionally confused. Retailers
sometimes label Valdeón as Cabrales, possibly out of ignorance,
possibly because they think it will sell better under the more familiar
name. One sure indication of what you're getting is the wrapper. Cabrales
is always foil wrapped; Valdeón is wrapped in sycamore leaves.
The Valdeón wheels vary in size, but 5 pounds would be about average.
Under the leaf wrap is a thin, sticky, natural rind. The paste is ivory
colored, richly veined and creamy, yet also a little gritty. The flavor
is salty, pronounced, piquant and long lasting, definitely not for wimps.
It is easy to tone down Valdeón's pungency by drizzling it with
honey. Serving it with a little butter also softens its punch.
 To make the cheese, rennet is added to fresh milk and allowed to curdle
between 1 and 2 hours at 82 to 90 F. While curdling, the Penicillium mold
spores are added. The curd is then cut into 1/2 inch pieces, allowed to
rest for about 15 minutes, then stirred while the whey is drained away.
The curd is lightly packed into open-ended cylinder molds and allowed
to drain for a couple of days . Then, after unmolding, the cheese wheels
are salted and holes are poked in them with long stainless steel needles.
It is ripened in humid caves at temperatures between 41 and 50 F for a
minimum of two months if made from raw milk, 1 1/2 months if made from
pasteurized milk. The resultant cheese has a fat content of 45%.
In Spain, there is a locally marketed variation of Valdeón that
has been made into a spread and packaged in jars. It is made by peeling
the thin rind off of mature Valdeón cheese wheels and then whipping
and churning the interrior cheese curd into a smooth paste. The resulting
paste is a light ivory / grayish / greenish spread that is eaten on bread.
Very popular in Spain, but for some reason, never exported to the US.
 Valdeón Cheese is made exclusivly with the milk of locally raised
cows, sheep, and goats in the Valley of Valdeón, through which
the Cares River flows deep in the mountains called “Pico de Europa”.
This area is steep and rocky with abundant grass for grazing. Almost all
of the milk used to make Valdeón cheese comes from grass fed animals.
The rich aromatic milk produced in these fertile green pastures makes
Valdeón cheese one of the finest and most sophisticated Spanish
blue cheeses. The cows are mostly pure and crossbred Brown Alpine, the
sheep are Churros, and the goats mostly Alpines. The cheese making process
dates back centuries and the traditional techniques are preserved by a
government decreed DOC status. Only four cheese makers, mostly co-ops,
make the bulk of Valdeón cheese today. All of the milk comes from
about 25 separate dairies in the valley.
 Wrapped in chestnut leaves with an aroma that's salty and sweet; Valdeón
is a beautiful blue cheese that has become one of our favorites. It slices
well, but is a bit crumbly and the chestnut leaves are more for decoration
than anything, but they certainly add to the aroma and visual appeal.
The flavor is earthy and spicy with a distinct blue flavor without being
metallic on the finish. It's a medium blue - great for sauces and salads.
Blues like to be kept moist and Valdeón is no exception. It will
"weep" a bit and become moist - cover it with a napkin if it
gets too soggy, then wrap it in foil, and then in plastic wrap. The goal
here is to manage the moist part without drying it out completely. Leave
the chestnut leaves on if you use it as a table cheese, peel the leaves
off the cheese before using it in other dishes.
 Because blue cheeses tend to be robust, they
pair well with other robust, full flavored foods and bold red, spicy,
and tannic wines. Plus, they are great on steaks and other full flavored
meats. Crumble a bit on top of a steak for the last minute or so after
BBQ or broiling, or dot the classic garlic bread with a bit of blue for
added "BAM". On salads? Of course! Or make a snazzy fondue by
adding a quarter cup of Valdeón to a cup of grated Gruyere dusted
with flour, topped with a splash (1/4 cup or so) of good white wine. Old
bread does well, rye and seeded bread especially. Add more Valdeón
to suit your taste. If you are a bit shy, and would just like a taste
to try it out, you can fulfill your desires by ordering up a serving any
night at Tapino. Yummm. Good!
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