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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Spain, Canary Islands, north-west Gran Canaria

Queso de Flor de Guía PDOQueso de Flor de Guía

Milk of Canary Island sheep, with up to 40 % cow and 10 % goat milk, is curdled at 28–35 °C with an extract of dried cardoon flowers instead of animal rennet. The curd is cut to rice-to-chickpea size, pressed in a hoop whose base may carry a flower pattern, salted and ripened at least 15 days. Young cheeses are creamy, sour and bitter; long-ripened ones are hard, sharp and coated with oil, paprika or gofio. Made in 6 steps over 16 days. The longest step, ripen, turn and rub, takes at least 15 days (Gobierno de Canarias 2007) and runs at 4–18 °C (Gobierno de Canarias 2007). Lactic acid bacteria of the raw or treated milk does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 15 daysSet[guia-spec2007][guia-sd2009]Ripen, turn and rub
Temperature4–18 °CSet[guia-spec2007]Ripen, turn and rub
Fully documentedCheese16 daysPDO (EU, 2010); covers three names that differ by coagulantFamily: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)More hard sheep and goat cheesesMore from Spain

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe specifications fix limits, not a recipe. Cheeses weigh 0.5–5 kg.
At least 60 %Canary Island sheep milk[guia-sd2009]
Up to 40 %Milk of Canary Island cattle or their crosses[guia-sd2009]
Up to 10 %Milk of Canary Island goat breeds[guia-sd2009]
Cardoon flower extract · Water extract of dried flower heads of Cynara cardunculus var. ferocissima and Cynara scolymus; the only coagulant for Flor de Guía, at least 50 % of it for Media Flor[guia-sd2009][guia-spec2007][rincon2017]
At most 25 to 30 g per 100 litres of milkWashed sea salt · Optional salting of the milk; dry salt on the cheese for about 24 hours[guia-spec2007]
Animal fat or edible vegetable oil, paprika or gofio (optional) · Rubbed on cheeses ripened over 60 days[guia-spec2007]
Starternone required for Flor de Guía; Queso de Guía may use animal rennet and authorised cultures

Total time across the recorded steps: 16 days

Start
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What changes: Starting material: sheep milk from flocks grazing the Guía highlands

Step 1 of 6
Milk the flock in season
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Only cheese made from January to July qualifies, while the sheep graze inside the area; from August to December they move up the island on transhumance.

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 milk is set with dried cardoon flowers, as in Torta del Casar and Serra da Estrela, which gives a soft, bitter paste. Cow milk may be mixed into the sheep milk, and the cheese is made only in the January–July season when the flocks are at home.

Milk
At least 60 % Canary sheep milk; up to 40 % cow and 10 % goat milk
Coagulant
Cardoon flower only (Flor de Guía); at least 50 % cardoon (Media Flor); animal or plant rennet and cultures (Guía)
Ripening
At least 15 days; semi-mature 15–60 days, mature over 60 days
Size
Cylinder 4–6 cm high (Media Flor and Guía 4–8 cm), 15–30 cm across, 0.5–5 kg

Related ferments

Variants

  • Queso de Media Flor de GuíaAt least 50 % cardoon coagulant, the rest other authorised rennets; 4–8 cm high.
  • Queso de GuíaAnimal rennet, plant rennet or authorised cultures; curdled at 30–38 °C for at most an hour.
  • ArtesanoMade from raw milk of the maker's own animals.

Safety

Cheeses made with raw milk from the maker's own animals may be labelled "artesano". ANSES advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and people with weak immunity to avoid raw-milk cheeses other than cooked pressed ones such as Comté.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli (risks ANSES names for raw-milk cheeses).

History and sources

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

Flocks of Canary Island breeds were kept here before the town of Guía was founded in 1526. The specification credits Castilian settlers of the Guía highlands with the cardoon-flower method, which families kept as a secret. Fray José de Sosa praised the cheese of Guía in 1678, and in the late 19th century a cheese market grew up in Guía for farmers of the surrounding highlands.

  1. [guia-sd2009] European Commission 2009, Single document, 'Queso de Flor de Guía'/'Queso de Media Flor de Guía'/'Queso de Guía' ES-PDO-005-0605, Official Journal C 315, 23.12.2009spec
  2. [guia-spec2007] Gobierno de Canarias 2007, Pliego de condiciones de la DOP "Queso de Flor de Guía y Queso de Guía", Boletín Oficial de Canarias no. 65, 30 March 2007 (national-stage specification)spec
  3. [rincon2017] Rincón A.A. et al. 2017, Influence of vegetable coagulant and ripening time on the lipolytic and sensory profile of cheeses made with raw goat milk from Canary breeds, Food Science and Technology International 23:254–264 (abstract)paper
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov