San Simón da Costa

Appearance & taste

San Simón da Costa has a shape between a spinning top and a sphere and tapers to a point at the top. It comes in two sizes: the large format with 0.8 to 1.5 kg and 13 to 18 cm in height and the small format “Bufón” with 0.4 to 0.8 kg and 10 to 13 cm in height.

The smoked rind is hard and inelastic, 1 to 3 mm thick, yellow-ochre and somewhat greasy. The paste is fine, greasy, medium-hard, semi-elastic and dense, white to yellow and soft when cut, with a characteristic aroma and flavour. It has not very many round, irregular holes, smaller than a pea. The cheese contains at least 55 % dry matter and 45 to 60 % fat in dry matter.

Each cheese bears on its back a numbered control label reading “Denominación de Origen Protegida San Simón da Costa”. The label also states whether it is made from raw or pasteurised milk.

Production

Natural whole milk, raw or pasteurised, is used from cows of the Rubia Gallega, Pardo-Alpina and Frisona breeds or their crosses from registered farms. The milk is not standardised, is stored at no more than 4 °C and is processed no later than 48 hours after milking.

It is coagulated with rennet and lactic acid bacteria (Lactococcus lactis), with the specification encouraging the use of native strains, at 31 to 33 °C in 30 to 40 minutes; with raw milk at 28 to 32 °C in 30 to 35 minutes. The curd is cut to 5 to 12 mm and filled into moulds that give it its typical shape. It is pressed in cotton cloths, which help the whey to drain off and smooth the rind. It is salted for at most 24 hours in a brine with 14 to 17 % salt.

From the end of salting, the large format ripens for at least 45 days and the “Bufón” for at least 30 days; the cheeses are turned and cleaned during this time. Optionally they are dipped in olive oil or another approved anti-mould agent. Finally they are smoked until they have their characteristic colour, always with birch wood without bark and without coming too close to the fire. The cheese is in principle sold whole.

Origin & history

The area is the Terra Chá district with the municipalities of Vilalba, Muras, Xermade, Abadín, Guitiriz, Begonte, Castro de Rei, Cospeito and A Pastoriza. According to the specification, it is one of the largest districts in Galicia by area, with flat relief that becomes mountainous only at the edges. In the mild, humid climate, pastures grow from native grasses such as timothy, Yorkshire fog, fescue and ryegrass and from clovers such as bird’s-foot trefoil and medick. The milk comes from small family farms with mainly native cattle breeds, which feed mostly on pasture grass and green fodder from their own farm; bought-in concentrates are used only when feed is scarce. The many birches in the area supply the wood for smoking, which according to the specification gives the cheese its colour and aroma.

According to legend, the cheese goes back to the peoples of the Castro culture who had settled in the mountains of the Sierras of A Carba and Xistral. Tradition has it that in Roman times it was sent to Rome because of its flavour and keeping qualities; later it was used to pay taxes and dues to the feudal lords and the Church. According to the specification, it can be recognised immediately by its shape and colour.