Torta del Casar

Appearance & taste

Torta del Casar is a cylindrical cheese with a rather flat top, a straight to convex side and rounded edges. It measures at least 7 cm in diameter and is at most half as high as it is wide. There are three weight classes: large (801 to 1,100 g), medium (501 to 800 g) and small (200 to 500 g). The cheese contains at least 50 % fat in dry matter.

The rind is semi-hard, clearly separated from the paste and evenly ochre, without added colourings; in the traditional presentation it is brushed with oil and may have small cracks. According to the specification, its broad, low shape with almost edgeless sides bulging outwards, its creamy paste and its slightly bitter taste distinguish it from other cheeses. The raw milk gives it milky and vegetal aromas.

It is eaten in its own way: so that the paste does not run out, the top is cut off like a lid and put back on for storage. For shipping, the cheese may be cut in halves or quarters. Because the rind is semi-hard, it bears no casein plate; instead every piece receives a numbered inspection label.

Production

The sheep are kept extensively or semi-extensively on the natural pastures of the area, supplemented when needed with hay, straw, compound feed or concentrates. In semi-extensive farming, at most 1.8 livestock units per hectare are allowed. Raw, non-standardised whole milk from Merino or Entrefino sheep is processed.

The milk is curdled with natural rennet from the local cardoon. The cheesemaker decides from experience when to cut and how large the curd should be, because the raw milk varies in composition and bacterial content over the year. Moulding and pressing are done by hand. During ripening the milk proteins are broken down strongly even before the rind has fully formed: the cheese can no longer bear its own weight, sinks and bulges outwards at the sides. This creates its shape and its creamy paste; the vegetable rennet gives it the slightly bitter taste. Milk production, curdling, cutting, moulding, pressing, salting and ripening take place in the area.

Origin & history

The area is a steppe-like plain at 250 to 450 m between the Sierra de San Pedro, the rivers Magasca and Almonte and the Tajo, crossed by the Sierra de Fuentes. The soils of weathered granite are shallow and not very fertile, and the climate is continental with long, hot summers, short, mild winters and irregular rain in spring and autumn. The low, nutritious pastures of grasses, clover, medick and composites are used mainly by sheep; at higher altitudes there are broom and holm, kermes and cork oaks.

The area has always been used for transhumance and grazing. As early as 1791 the interrogation records of the Royal Court for the judicial district of Cáceres mention the cheese, which served as a means of payment, and the sheep, which were kept mainly for their wool at the time. When wool lost value, milk and cheese gained in importance. The cheese was first made in dairy huts next to the pastures for the household’s own use, today in dairies. According to the specification, it owes its name to its shape, which reminded the makers of a round cake, in Spanish “torta”.