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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Portugal, Beira Baixa

Queijo Amarelo da Beira BaixaQueijo da Beira Baixa, tipo Amarelo

Raw ewe milk, with up to half raw goat milk, is set with animal rennet at 27–36 °C in 30–60 minutes. The curd is cut with a wire lira, spread into open hoops and pressed until it holds together, then salted on the surface, in the curd or in brine. It cures at least 40 days, or 90 days for Velho, in a natural room or at 8–14 °C, and the rind turns yellow. Made in 6 steps over 40 days. The longest step, cure, takes at least 40 days (DGADR) and runs at 8–14 °C (DGADR). Lactic acid bacteria from the raw milk does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 40 daysSet[caderno][oj-2020]Cure
Temperature8–14 °CSet[caderno]Cure
Fully documentedCheese40 daysPDO (DOP, one of the three types of Queijo da Beira Baixa; amended 2021)Family: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)More hard sheep and goat cheesesMore from Portugal

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe specification sets only the milk shares. A cheese weighs 0.6–1 kg, or 0.2–0.5 kg in the small size.
50–100 % of the milkRaw ewe milk · Merino or other sheep breeds adapted to the region[caderno][oj-2020]
0–50 % of the milkRaw goat milk · Charnequeira or other goat breeds adapted to the region[caderno][oj-2020]
Animal rennet[caderno]
Salt · Amount judged by the maker[caderno]
Starternone added; the raw milk carries the lactic bacteria

Total time across the recorded steps: 40 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
up to 6 °C

What changes: Starting material: raw ewe milk with up to half goat milk

Step 1 of 6
Work the milk straight after milking
Time
Not documented
Temperature
up to 6 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: raw ewe milk, or ewe and goat 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 Amarelo type of Queijo da Beira Baixa uses animal rennet rather than the cardoon of the Castelo Branco type, and may contain up to half goat milk. It is salted less heavily than the Picante type, cures for 40 days rather than 120, and has a yellow rind.

Milk
Raw ewe milk 50–100 %, raw goat milk 0–50 %
Composition
Moisture 54–69 % of the fat-free cheese (Velho 49–56 %); fat 45–60 % of dry matter
Size
0.6–1 kg, 12–16 cm across, 3–5 cm high; small size 0.2–0.5 kg, 7–10 cm; Velho 0.4–0.9 kg
Storage
0–5 °C in storage, 0–10 °C in transport, 0–12 °C at retail

Related ferments

Variants

  • AmareloCured at least 40 days.
  • Amarelo VelhoCured at least 90 days; may be sold under olive oil or coated with paprika paste and olive oil.

Safety

Made from raw milk and cured at least 40 days. A survey of 98 raw-milk cheeses bought from Beira Baixa makers found Listeria monocytogenes in 4.1 % of them and linked the contamination to lapses in hygiene during making.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes (4.1 % of 98 retail raw-milk cheeses from Beira Baixa, PDO and non-PDO); Coagulase-positive staphylococci above 10^4 cfu/g (6.1 % of the same samples).

History and sources

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

The specification ties the Beira Baixa cheeses to the transhumance of flocks from the Serra da Estrela into the region each winter. A 1906 author already praised the mixed goat and sheep cheeses of Fundão and Penamacor. The three types were registered together as a PDO in 1996. The 2020 amendment added the Velho type and its olive-oil and paprika forms, set the milk shares and the coagulation ranges, and added Mação to the area.

  1. [caderno] DGADR, Caderno de especificações Queijo da Beira Baixa DOPspec
  2. [oj-2020] European Commission 2020, Publication of an application for approval of an amendment, 'Queijo da Beira Baixa' (PDO-PT-0214-AM02), single document, Official Journal of the EU C 315, 23 September 2020, p. 3spec
  3. [mendonca2024] Mendonça R., Furtado R., Coelho A., Correia C.B., Suyarko E., Borges V., Gomes J.P., Pista A., Batista R. 2024, Raw milk cheeses from Beira Baixa, Portugal - a contributive study for the microbiological hygiene and safety assessment, Brazilian Journal of Microbiology 55(2):1759–1772paper