Afuega'l Pitu

Appearance & taste

The cheese has the shape of a truncated cone or a pumpkin, weighs 200 to 600 g, is about 5 to 12 cm high and measures 8 to 14 cm at the base. Depending on ripeness and added paprika, the natural rind varies in firmness. There are four traditional varieties: “Atroncau blancu” (truncated cone, unstirred, white), “Atroncau roxu” (truncated cone, stirred, orange-red), “Trapu blancu” (pumpkin shape, stirred, white) and “Trapu roxu” (pumpkin shape, stirred, orange-red). The cheese contains at least 45 % fat in dry matter.

Depending on ripeness it is white to yellowish, or orange-red with paprika powder, and its paste is more or less soft. It tastes slightly sour, only a little salty or not at all, creamy and fairly dry; the red varieties taste stronger and sharp. The aroma is mild and becomes more intense with ripening.

Production

The milk comes from cows of the Frisona and Asturiana de los Valles breeds and their crosses. They spend most of the day on pasture and come into the shed in the evening for milking, where they stay until the morning; they also receive green fodder, hay or silage grown on the farm, and in bad weather, exceptionally, some concentrate. The milk is pasteurised; only cheese ripened for 60 days may be made without pasteurisation.

A little liquid rennet and, with pasteurised milk, milk cultures are added to the milk; it curdles at 22 to 32 °C in 15 to 20 hours. The curdled milk is ladled by hand into perforated moulds, where it drains for about twelve hours. The curd is then put into a smaller mould, the surface is salted, and after another twelve hours the cheeses finish draining on perforated shelves. For the stirred varieties the mass drains in cloths, is stirred and salted after about 24 hours, with paprika powder for “Trapu roxu”, and then filled into moulds or cloths. The cheeses ripen for 5 to 60 days, depending on the desired degree. Milk production, cheesemaking and ripening take place in the area.

Origin & history

The area comprises the municipalities of Morcín, Riosa, Santo Adriano, Grado, Salas, Pravia, Tineo, Belmonte, Cudillero, Candamo, Las Regueras, Muros del Nalón and Soto del Barco on the rivers Nalón and Narcea. Between the coast and the watershed the land rises steeply over a short distance; more than half lies above 400 m. The maritime climate with gentle rain all year round makes the meadows grow quickly, so the cows can stay outdoors almost all year. According to the specification, high humidity and mild temperatures also affect the texture of the cheese during draining and moulding.

The cheese has been documented since the 18th century at the latest, as a means of paying taxes, and until the 19th century also as “quesu de puñu”. At the end of the 19th century Félix Aramburu y Zuloaga described it as widespread in almost all municipalities of Asturias. The name literally means “to strangle the chicken”; its origin is unclear, and it is interpreted, for example, as a reference to tying up the draining bag or to difficult swallowing. The farms made cheese from surplus milk, mostly made by women and passed down from generation to generation, and sold it above all at the market in Grado. Since 1981 a producers’ show has been held in Morcín.