Skip to main content
Support

Browse by category

All categories
Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Portugal, Baixo Alentejo

Queijo Serpa

Raw ewe milk is warmed to 26–34 °C and set with an infusion of cardoon flowers made in the dairy. The curd is cut, partly drained, moulded and salted, then ripened at least 30 days at 6–15 °C, first cool and humid and later warmer and drier, while the cheeses are washed and turned. Young Serpa is so buttery it can flow when cut; Serpa Velho, ripened over 180 days, is hard. Made in 5 steps over 30 days. The longest step, ripen, washing and turning, takes at least 30 days (DGADR) and runs at 6–15 °C (DGADR). Lactic acid bacteria, mainly Lactobacillus paracasei/casei in cheeses from PDO producers; Lactococcus is the main genus by sequencing (about 40–60 %), then Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 30 daysSet[caderno][oj-2025]Ripen, washing and turning
Temperature6–15 °CSet[caderno]Ripen, washing and turning

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification gives no amounts. Cheeses range from 200 g, 10 cm across, to 2.5 kg, 30 cm across.
Raw ewe milk · From the defined area only; no other substance may be added[caderno]
Cardoon flower infusion · Cynara cardunculus flowers steeped in the dairy[caderno][oj-2025]
Food-grade salt · In the milk, on the surface, in brine, or a mix[caderno]
Starter: none; the raw milk and the dairy carry the microbes

Total time across the recorded steps: 30 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
26–34 °C

What changes: Raw ewe milk warms to 26–34 °C in the vat

Step 1 of 5
Warm the raw milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
26–34 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Yeasts

Output: warm 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

Serpa is set with cardoon flowers, not animal rennet, and is ripened only a month for a soft, buttery paste that can run when cut.

Composition
Fat 45–60 % of dry matter; moisture in non-fat solids 61–69 % (Velho 56 % or less)
Size
200 g to 2.5 kg; from 10 cm across and 3 cm high to 30 cm across and 8 cm high
Storage
Serpa at 0–5 °C; Velho at 0–10 °C; long-term storage at −15 °C or below

Related ferments

Variants

  • SerpaRipened at least 30 days; buttery, may flow when cut.
  • Serpa VelhoRipened more than 180 days; semi-hard to hard; may be coated in colourless paraffin.

Safety

Made from raw milk with no added starter and ripened at least 30 days. The specification sets storage at 0–5 °C for Serpa and 0–10 °C for Velho.

History and sources

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

An 1801 travel account already described Alentejo cheese curdled with thistle flowers. The cheese was registered as a PDO in 1996. The 2025 amendment added Serpa Velho and adjusted sizes and storage temperatures.

  1. [caderno] DGADR, Caderno de especificações Queijo Serpa DOPspec
  2. [oj-2025] European Commission 2025, Communication of approval of a standard amendment, 'Queijo Serpa' (PDO-PT-0260-AM01), single document, Official Journal of the EU C/2025/5172, 23 September 2025spec
  3. [goncalves2018] Gonçalves M.T.P., Benito M.J., Córdoba M.G., Egas C., Merchán A.V., Galván A.I., Ruiz-Moyano S. 2018, Bacterial communities in Serpa cheese by culture dependent techniques, 16S rRNA gene sequencing and high-throughput sequencing analysis, Journal of Food Science 83(5):1333–1341 (abstract)paper
  4. [goncalves2017] Gonçalves dos Santos M.T.P., Benito M.J., Córdoba M.G., Alvarenga N., Ruiz-Moyano Seco de Herrera S. 2017, Yeast community in traditional Portuguese Serpa cheese by culture-dependent and -independent DNA approaches, International Journal of Food Microbiology 262:63–70 (abstract)paper