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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Portugal, Beira Baixa

Queijo de Castelo Branco (Queijo da Beira Baixa PDO)Queijo de Castelo Branco

Raw milk from Merino and other local ewes is set with a cardoon-flower (thistle) preparation at 28–36 °C in 40–90 minutes. The curd is cut to the size of rice grains, packed into moulds and pressed until the whey is gone, then salted and cured for at least 40 days. Cured over 90 days it becomes "Velho" (old). Made in 6 steps over 40 days. The longest step, cure, takes at least 40 days (DGADR) and runs at 8–14 °C (DGADR). Lactococcus lactis and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Loigolactobacillus coryniformis, Lactococcus piscium, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lacticaseibacillus zeae do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 40 daysSet[bb-ce][bb-oj2020]Cure
Temperature8–14 °CSet[bb-ce][bb-oj2020]Cure
AciditypH 4.7–5.9Measured[cardinali2022]Cure
Fully documentedCheese40 daysPDO (1996, as one of the three Queijos da Beira Baixa; since 2021 a type within "Queijo da Beira Baixa" PDO)Family: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)More hard sheep and goat cheesesMore from Portugal

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification sets temperatures and times but no amounts; salt is "calculated by the cheesemaker's know-how". A normal cheese weighs 0.8–1.3 kg, a small one 0.35–0.55 kg.
Raw ewe milk · Only ewe milk for this type; processed straight after milking or kept at 6 °C at most[bb-ce][bb-oj2020]
Cardoon preparation (Cynara cardunculus) · The only coagulant for the Castelo Branco type; the Amarelo and Picante types use animal rennet[bb-ce][bb-oj2020]
Salt · Spread on the surface, mixed into the curd or milk, or by brine; amount set by the maker[bb-ce][bb-oj2020]
Starter: none; raw-milk flora

Total time across the recorded steps: 40 days

Start
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up to 6 °C

What changes: Starting material: raw milk from local ewes, used fresh from milking

Step 1 of 6
Take the raw ewe milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
up to 6 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
L. plantarum
Lactococcus piscium
S. thermophilus

Output: raw ewe milk.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

The only one of the three Beira Baixa cheeses made from ewe milk alone and set with cardoon; the Amarelo and Picante types use animal rennet and may include goat milk. It cures at least 40 days, against 120 days for Picante.

Milk
Raw ewe milk only (the Amarelo and Picante types may use goat milk)
Ripening
At least 40 days; "Velho" after more than 90 days
Composition
Moisture 54–69 % of fat-free cheese (49–56 % for Velho); fat 45–60 % of dry matter
Size
Normal 5–8 cm high, 12–16 cm across, 0.8–1.3 kg; small 4–6 cm high, 8–10 cm across, 0.35–0.55 kg

Related ferments

Variants

  • Castelo Branco VelhoCured more than 90 days; harder, drier and stronger, with a toasted-yellow to orange or reddish rind. May be sold in olive oil or coated in paprika paste and olive oil.
  • Small size4–6 cm high, 8–10 cm across, 0.35–0.55 kg.

Safety

Made from raw ewe milk, which must be worked at once or kept at 6 °C or below. After curing the specification sets storage at 0–5 °C, transport at 0–10 °C and retail at 0–12 °C, with no more than 2 hours at room temperature for tasting.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Beira Baixa cheesemaking grew out of transhumance, when Serra da Estrela flocks wintered on the plains of Idanha and Castelo Branco from November to April. An 1853 account praised the area's cheeses and requeijões. Regulatory Decree 22/88 of 1988 created the demarcated region; the three cheeses were registered together as a PDO in 1996 and renamed "Queijo da Beira Baixa" in 2021.

  1. [bb-ce] DGADR, Queijo da Beira Baixa DOP, Caderno de Especificações (product specification)spec
  2. [bb-oj2020] European Commission 2020, Publication of an amendment application for 'Queijos da Beira Baixa (Queijo de Castelo Branco, Queijo Amarelo da Beira Baixa, Queijo Picante da Beira Baixa)', with single document, Official Journal of the European Union C 315, 23.9.2020, p. 3; approved in OJ L 57, 18.2.2021spec
  3. [cardinali2022] Cardinali F. et al. 2022, Microbial diversity, morpho-textural characterization, and volatilome profile of the Portuguese thistle-curdled cheese Queijo da Beira Baixa PDO, Food Research International 157:111481 (abstract)paper