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Cheese from Spain, Canary Islands, island of La Palma

Queso Palmero PDOQueso Palmero

Milk from the Palmera goat is set straight after milking, while still warm, with rennet from suckling kids at 27–33 °C for about 45 minutes. The finely cut curd is pressed into moulds, salted with island sea salt and often smoked over almond shells, dried prickly pear or Canarian pine. Most is eaten fresh; the rest ripens in caves or chambers at 10–18 °C, rubbed with olive oil and gofio.

Fully documentedCheese9 daysPDO (EU), registered 2002 (OJ L 181, 11.7.2002); Canary Denominación de Origen rules of 2001Family: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe rules give conditions, not doses. About 5 to 6 litres of milk make 1 kg of cheese; cheeses weigh 0.75–15 kg, and those of 8 kg or more from grazing herds may be called "Queso de Manada".
Fresh milk from the Palmera goat, filtered after milkingRaw for the "Artesano" label; nowadays all makers use raw milk (Álvarez and Fresno)[boc-reglamento][alvarez2020]
Natural rennet from the dried stomachs of suckling kids[palmero-pliego][boc-reglamento]
Sea salt, preferably from the island's salt pans[boc-reglamento]
Almond shells, dried prickly pear (tunera) and Canarian pine, as smoking fuelOptional[palmero-pliego][boc-reglamento]
Olive oil, gofio or flour, rubbed on ripened cheesesOptional; must be stated on the label[boc-reglamento]

Total time across the recorded steps: 9 days

Start
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27–33 °C

What changes: Kid rennet goes into the still-warm goat milk and it sets

Step 1 of 6
Set the warm milk with kid rennet
Time
45 min
Set
Temperature
27–33 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
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

At a glance

Milk from the Palmera goat is set straight after milking, while still warm, with rennet from suckling kids at 27–33 °C for about 45 minutes. The finely cut curd is pressed into moulds, salted with island sea salt and often smoked over almond shells, dried prickly pear or Canarian pine. Most is eaten fresh; the rest ripens in caves or chambers at 10–18 °C, rubbed with olive oil and gofio. Made in 6 steps over 9 days. The longest step, ripen, takes at least 8 days (Álvarez S 2020) and runs at 10–18 °C (Gobierno de Canarias 2001).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 8 daysReported[alvarez2020]Ripen
Temperature10–18 °CSet[boc-reglamento]Ripen
AciditypH 6.5 → 5Measured[alvarez2020]Ripen

What makes this one different

Made only from the island's Palmera goats and set with kid rennet at milking warmth. It is usually eaten young, and the smoked version uses almond shells, prickly pear and Canarian pine.

Milk
Palmera goat milk, raw for "Artesano"
Composition
At least 17.50% protein, 35.10% fat in dry matter and 48.50% dry matter
Size
Cylinders 6–15 cm high and 12–60 cm across, 0.75–15 kg

Related ferments

Safety

Most cheese is made from raw goat milk and sold young. The PDO rules require hygienic milking, filtering and checks of milk and cheese. Those controls do not remove the risk. Raw-milk cheese can carry Listeria, Salmonella and Shiga-toxin E. coli. ANSES, the French food-safety agency, advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and people with weak immunity not to eat it, except cooked pressed kinds such as Gruyère, which Palmero is not.

History and sources

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

The 2002 specification says the island's first people already had a livestock tradition, which continued after the conquest of the island in the 15th century. It cites 16th-century records of shipments of Palmero cheese for export. The Denominación de Origen was recognised provisionally in 1997, and an order of 7 December 2000, published on 12 January 2001, recognised it on a transitional basis and approved its rules.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [reg-1241-2002] Commission Regulation (EC) No 1241/2002 of 10 July 2002 entering Queso Palmero or Queso de la Palma in the register of protected designations of origin, Official Journal L 181, 11.7.2002 (Publications Office copy)spec
  2. [palmero-pliego] Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación 2002, Pliego de condiciones de la Denominación de Origen "Queso Palmero" (web.archive.org copy of the MAPA file)spec
  3. [boc-reglamento] Gobierno de Canarias, Reglamento de la Denominación de Origen "Queso Palmero", Boletín Oficial de Canarias 2001/006, 12 January 2001gov
  4. [alvarez2020] Álvarez S., Fresno M. 2020, Effect of the Ripening Period and Intravarietal Comparison on Chemical, Textural and Sensorial Characteristics of Palmero (PDO) Goat Cheese, Animals 11(1):58paper
  5. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov