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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Spain, Region of Murcia

Queso de Murcia PDO (fresco and curado)Queso de Murcia

Whole milk of Murciana goats is set with rennet, cut and rewarmed a few degrees, then moulded and brined. The fresco type is barely pressed, marked with a basket-weave pattern and eaten straight away; the curado type is cut finer, worked harder, pressed and ripened for at least 60 days. Made in 7 steps over 2 months. The longest step, curado - ripen, takes at least 2 months (Región de Murcia 2001) and runs at 9–13 °C (Región de Murcia 2001).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsSet[borm2001]Curado - ripen
Temperature9–13 °CSet[borm2001]Curado - ripen
AciditypH at least 5Set[borm2001]Curado - ripen

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification fixes limits, not a recipe. Fresco is made in pieces of about 300 g, 1 kg and 2 kg; curado in pieces of 1–2 kg.
Whole goat milk from Murciana goats · At least 3.4 % protein and 5.0 % fat, pH at least 6.5, kept below 6 °C[borm2001]
Animal rennet or other permitted coagulating enzymes[borm2001]
Brine of sodium chloride[borm2001]
Starter: rennet; the specification names no culture

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months

Start
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up to 6 °C

What changes: Starting material: whole Murciana goat milk, kept below 6 °C

Step 1 of 7
Milk and chill the goats
Time
Not documented
Temperature
up to 6 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The goats are milked once a day in a milking parlour. The milk must be free of colostrum, drugs and preservatives, with at most 15 °Dornic acidity when collected.

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

One designation covers a fresh cheese eaten at once and a pressed cheese ripened two months. Unlike its sister PDO Queso de Murcia al Vino, the curd is not washed and the rind is never bathed in red wine.

Milk
Whole milk of Murciana goats only
Fresco
Unripened; 5–12 cm high, 7–18 cm across; at least 40 % dry matter, 45 % fat in dry matter
Curado
Ripened at least 60 days; 7–9 cm high, 12–18 cm across, 1–2 kg; at least 55 % dry matter
Rind
Fresco: almost none, with basket-weave marks; curado: smooth, waxy to ochre

Related ferments

Variants

  • Queso de Murcia frescoLarger 10 mm grains, light working, little or no pressing, pleita marks, up to 10 h in brine, no ripening.
  • Queso de Murcia curadoSmall 5 mm grains, hard working, 2–4 h pressing, up to 20 h in stronger brine, at least 60 days of ripening.

Safety

The fresco is not ripened and has a pH of at least 6.5, so the specification keeps it at 4 °C or below until it is eaten.

History and sources

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

The specification says Murcian households long made fresh goat cheese for the family and for local markets and bars, and that frying it began partly to keep it longer and to avoid Malta fever. In 1924 dairies in Yecla and Jumilla used about 800,000 litres of goat milk. A regional quality label covered the cheeses from 1990 before the PDO applications, and the EU registered the name in 2002.

  1. [borm2001] Región de Murcia, Orden de 11 de julio de 2001, Anexo I, Pliego de condiciones de las DO «Queso de Murcia» y «Queso de Murcia al vino», BORM no. 168, 21 July 2001, pp. 10895–10900spec
  2. [eambrosia] European Commission, eAmbrosia register of geographical indications, entry «Queso de Murcia» (PDO-ES-0168, EUGI00000013484; protected 2001, Regulation (EC) 1097/2002)gov