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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Spain, the whole of Castile and León

Queso Castellano PGIQueso Castellano

Raw or pasteurised whole sheep milk from Castile and León is set with rennet at 27–37 °C, cut to rice-sized grains, gently warmed to no more than 39 °C and pressed hard in cylindrical moulds. After dry salting or brining it ripens for at least 30 days, or 60 days for cheeses over 1.5 kg, into a firm, compact, slightly acid ewe cheese. Made in 6 steps over 33 days. The longest step, ripen, takes at least 30 days (ITACyL / MAPA 2020) and runs at 3–18 °C (ITACyL / MAPA 2020). Lactic acid bacteria; in raw-milk cheeses made without added starter their counts tracked the ethyl esters and ethanol that shape the aroma and Native lactobacilli and Leuconostoc strains, tested as starter and non-starter cultures in pasteurised-milk Castellano; they sped up protein breakdown do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 30 daysSet[pliego2020]Ripen
Temperature3–18 °CSet[pliego2020]Ripen
AciditypH 4.7–5.7Set[pliego2020]Ripen

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification fixes limits, not a recipe. A cheese is a cylinder of at most 3.8 kg, at most 25 cm across and 15 cm high.
Whole sheep milk, raw or pasteurised · At least 5.2 % fat, 4.6 % protein and 15.9 % total solids when cheesemaking starts[pliego2020]
Natural rennet or other coagulating enzymes[pliego2020]
Lactic cultures (optional) · The specification allows them at the renneting stage[pliego2020]
Salt · Dry salt or brine[pliego2020]
Starter: rennet, with optional lactic cultures; studies test native strains as starters

Total time across the recorded steps: 33 days

Start
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What changes: Starting material: whole sheep milk from Castile and León

Step 1 of 6
Collect the sheep milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Lactobacilli
Leuconostoc

The milk comes only from farms in Castile and León, and at least half of the feed must come from the region. Raw or pasteurised milk may be used.

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

Queso Castellano is the region-wide name for Castilian pressed ewe cheese. The specification says its moister paste and slightly lower pH make it taste more acid than similar ewe cheeses, and it allows raw or pasteurised milk and a wide ripening range.

Rind
Well defined and mould-free, with possible band, mould or cloth marks; pale yellow to brown; natural or coated
Paste
Firm and compact, off-white to beige, with few small round holes
Composition
At least 45 % fat in dry matter, at least 45 % dry matter, at most 3.26 % salt in dry matter
Size
Up to 3.8 kg; at most 25 cm across and 15 cm high
Ripening
At least 30 days (1.5 kg or less) or 60 days (larger)

Related ferments

Safety

Queso Castellano may be made from raw milk and sold after 30 days. ANSES advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and people with weak immunity not to eat raw-milk cheeses other than pressed cooked ones such as Gruyère, because of Listeria, Salmonella and Shiga-toxin E. coli.

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

History and sources

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

The specification links the cheese to sheep farming and the wool trade, with written records from the late Middle Ages. It quotes a 1442 price list that valued Castilian cheese, and Ruperto de Nola's 1525 Libro de Guisados, which praised cheese from parts of Castile. Shepherds sold cheese at markets such as Villalón and Medina, and artisan dairies grew up in the early 20th century. It was sold under a guarantee mark before the EU registered it as a PGI in 2020.

  1. [pliego2020] ITACyL / MAPA, Pliego de condiciones de la IGP «Queso Castellano», revision 0 (EU register PGI-ES-02307, in force 25 February 2020) (MAPA copy, read via the Internet Archive)spec
  2. [fernandez2004] Fernández-García E., Gaya P., Medina M., Núñez M. 2004, Evolution of the volatile components of raw ewes' milk Castellano cheese: seasonal variation, International Dairy Journal 14:39–46 (abstract)paper
  3. [abarquero2024] Abarquero D., Duque C., Bodelón R., López I., Muñoz J., Fresno J.M., Tornadijo M.E. 2024, Autochthonous cultures to improve the quality of PGI Castellano cheese, Food Research International 186:114306 (abstract)paper
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov