Queijo de Cabra Transmontano

Appearance & taste

The cheese is a flat cylinder, plate-shaped and regular, without a firm edge, and is made in two sizes: 6 to 12 cm or 12 to 19 cm in diameter, each 3 to 6 cm high. “Queijo de Cabra Transmontano” weighs 0.3 to 0.6 kg or 0.6 to 0.9 kg. Its rind is semi-hard, smooth and white, the paste firm, semi-hard, not supple, slightly greasy, white and even, with few holes. The fat content is 35 to 55 % in dry matter.

The longer-ripened “Queijo de Cabra Transmontano Velho” weighs 0.25 to 0.5 kg or 0.5 to 0.9 kg. The rind and paste are hard to extra-hard; the rind is white or paprika red, because its surface may be coated with oil and paprika powder. For both, the specification describes a strong, pleasant aroma and a clean taste with a slightly sharp note.

The labels bear the name “Queijo de Cabra Transmontano — DOP” or “Queijo de Cabra Transmontano Velho — DOP” and a certification mark. Pieces may only be sold prepacked.

Production

Only pure raw milk from Serrana goats kept in the area is used. The herds are traditionally kept extensively and cover a different distance every day, depending on the season, the condition of the animals and the feed available. They eat mainly wild plants on uncultivated and fallow land: about 60 % tree plants (annual shoots and leaves), 30 % shrubs, including broom and heather, and 10 % grasses.

The milk is curdled with the slow addition of rennet of animal origin and salted. The cheese ripens in places of natural ripening or in facilities with controlled conditions at 5 to 12 °C and 70 to 85 % relative humidity, for at least 60 days, as “Velho” for at least 90 days. Milk production, cheesemaking and ripening take place in the area. Pieces are prepacked at the production businesses or at other controlled facilities.

Origin & history

The area covers more than a third of the Trás-os-Montes region: the municipalities of Mirandela, Macedo de Cavaleiros, Alfândega da Fé, Carrazeda de Ansiães, Vila Flor, Torre de Moncorvo, Freixo de Espada à Cinta, Mogadouro, Vimioso and fifteen parishes of Bragança in the district of Bragança, and Alijó, Valpaços and Murça in the district of Vila Real. It covers 447,600 ha and consists of rift valleys, deep valleys and plateaus in the Douro basin. Mountain ranges, over 1,500 m high in places, keep out the sea winds, so that the climate is continental; towards the south and the Douro the Mediterranean influence increases. The sandy loam soils have formed mainly from granite, schist and greywacke.

In these remote areas with harsh conditions, goat farming for meat is very widespread. According to the specification, the animals’ particular diet and the production technique acquired over generations in the mountain regions give the cheese its typical aroma and its own taste.