Queijo da Beira Baixa

Appearance & taste

All kinds are flattened, regularly shaped cylinders. “Amarelo” is 12 to 16 cm wide and 3 to 5 cm high and weighs 0.6 to 1 kg, or 0.2 to 0.5 kg in a small version. The rind is semi-hard and yellow to dark yellow, the semi-hard to semi-soft paste slightly yellowish, with a few irregular holes; the taste is intense, clean and slightly acidic. “Castelo Branco” is taller at 5 to 8 cm, weighs 0.8 to 1.3 kg (small version 0.35 to 0.55 kg) and is slightly domed on top, without clear edges. Its smooth rind is light to dark yellow, the paste white to yellowish, with a few small holes; according to the specification, it gives a full sound when tapped. Aroma and taste are intense, slightly sharp after long ripening.

After more than 90 days of ripening both kinds bear the term “Velho” (old). By then the top is usually concave, the rind orange to red, the paste hard to very hard, dry and slightly crumbly and darker from the outside inwards. The taste becomes strong, lingering, slightly sharp and salty. These cheeses may also be sold preserved in olive oil or coated with a paste of paprika and olive oil.

“Picante” is 10 to 15 cm wide and 3 to 5 cm high, has straight sides and no rind. The hard or semi-hard paste is off-white to greyish, with no holes or small, irregular ones. Its taste is very sharp and distinctive.

Production

The sheep and goats graze on the natural pastures of the Beira Baixa with grasses and clovers; on less fertile land, forage plants such as subterranean clover and yellow serradella are sown. In lean times they are given hay and straw from the area as well as cereals and forage plants grown there, such as vetch, rye, lupin, maize and sorghum. All the feed comes from the area; only in exceptional shortages, for example after storms or fires, may up to half of the dry matter in a year come from outside.

Only raw milk from herds in the area is processed, from one species or mixed. The cheesemakers carefully monitor the milk temperature and the coagulation time, on which, according to the specification, the texture and holes of the paste depend. They decide the amount of salt and the salting time from experience. During ripening the cheese is washed as often as the appearance of the rind requires, which must always be smooth and clean. “Amarelo” and “Castelo Branco” ripen for at least 40 days, “Picante” for at least 120 days. Milk production, cheesemaking, ripening and affinage take place in the area.

Origin & history

The area covers the municipalities of Castelo Branco, Fundão, Belmonte, Penamacor, Idanha-a-Nova, Vila Velha de Rodão, Proença-a-Nova, Vila de Rei, Sertã, Oleiros and Mação as well as part of the municipality of Covilhã. Poor soils, harsh winters and very hot summers shape the vegetation and favour rather extensive livestock farming.

Cheesemaking and the grazing tradition are closely linked to transhumance: from November the dairy animals, which are sensitive to cold and lack of feed, were driven to places such as the Campinas da Idanha, the Campo Albicastrense and the Cova da Beira, as O. Ribeiro wrote in 1941. Antunes et al. (1943) trace knowledge of cheesemaking in Portugal back to the Romans; from the Montes Herminios region it is said to have spread with the movements of the herds as far as Castelo Branco. In 1906 João da Motta Prego, in his work “Manteigas e Queijos”, described the cheeses made from mixed goat’s and sheep’s milk from places such as Fundão, Penamacor and Idanha-a-Velha as extremely tasty and with a delicately melting paste.