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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Spain, Extremadura, central-southern Cáceres province

Torta del Casar PDOTorta del Casar

Raw milk from Merino and Entrefino sheep is set with rennet made from wild cardoon flowers (Cynara cardunculus), cut to rice-grain size, pressed lightly and salted. It ripens at least 60 days in cool, damp rooms, where the plant rennet breaks the proteins down until the paste is soft to runny inside a firm ochre rind. Made in 6 steps over 2.1 months. The longest step, ripen until the paste runs, takes at least 2 months (Consejo Regulador DOP Torta del Casar / Minis…) and runs at 4–12 °C (Consejo Regulador DOP Torta del Casar / Minis…). Salt is up to 3 % (Consejo Regulador DOP Torta del Casar / Minis…). Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (the main lactic species in 22 cheeses) and Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Spontaneous lactic acid bacteria, which give most of the flavour do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsSet[pliego-torta2023]Ripen until the paste runs
Temperature4–12 °CSet[pliego-torta2023]Ripen until the paste runs
Saltup to 3 %Set[pliego-torta2023]Salt
AciditypH 5.2–5.9Set[pliego-torta2023]Ripen until the paste runs

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification fixes limits, not a recipe; the cardoon is used "in traditional doses". Cheeses weigh 200–500 g, 501–800 g or 801–1100 g.
Raw whole sheep milk · Merino and Entrefino sheep; not standardised; at least 11.0% cheese solids and 4.8% protein; pH 6.6–6.9; kept at 1–6 °C for at most 72 h[pliego-torta2023]
Cardoon rennet (Cynara cardunculus flowers) (traditional doses) · Natural, not extracted or standardised[pliego-torta2023]
Common salt · Brine or dry salt[pliego-torta2023]
Starter: none named in the specification; the raw-milk lactic bacteria do the souring

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.1 months

Start
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1–6 °CpH 6.6–6.9

What changes: Starting material: raw Merino sheep milk, kept cold

Step 1 of 6
Collect and chill the raw milk
Time
up to 3 days
Set
Temperature
1–6 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
pH 6.6–6.9
Set
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
L. plantarum
L. mesenteroides
Lactic acid bacteria
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

Torta del Casar is set with wild cardoon rennet, not animal rennet. The cardoon enzymes break the proteins down so strongly that the inside turns soft to runny, while most ewe cheeses of its family ripen firm. Its bitterness comes from the cardoon.

Milk
Raw whole milk from Merino and Entrefino sheep
Coagulant
Wild cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) rennet only
Ripening
At least 60 days at 4–12 °C
Size
Flat cylinder at least 7 cm across, height at most half the diameter; 200–500 g, 501–800 g or 801–1100 g; at least 50% dry matter and 50% fat in dry matter

Related ferments

Variants

  • Grande801–1100 g
  • Mediano501–800 g
  • Pequeño200–500 g

Safety

This is a raw-milk soft cheese. ANSES advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and people with weak immunity not to eat raw-milk cheeses other than hard cooked ones. A 2026 study found some batches above the PDO pH limit, a reason given for more even souring.

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

History and sources

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

The 1791 Interrogatorios of the Royal Audiencia of Extremadura record cheese from the Cáceres area paying tithes, from flocks kept mainly for wool. As wool lost value, milk and cheese grew in importance. It was made in winter and spring at the shepherds' camps (majadas); controlled rooms now allow year-round making.

  1. [pliego-torta2023] Consejo Regulador DOP Torta del Casar / Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, Pliego de condiciones de la DOP « Torta del Casar », version published 19 January 2023spec
  2. [alvarez2026] Álvarez M., Andrade M.J., Gómez F., Rodríguez A. 2026, Identification and characterisation of lactic acid bacteria from Torta del Casar, a semi-soft artisanal cheese, Foods 15(14):2476 (abstract)paper
  3. [ordiales2013a] Ordiales E., Martín A., Benito M.J. et al. 2013, Role of the microbial population on the flavor of the soft-bodied cheese Torta del Casar, Journal of Dairy Science 96(9):5477–5486 (abstract)paper
  4. [ordiales2013b] Ordiales E., Benito M.J., Martín A. et al. 2013, Proteolytic effect of Cynara cardunculus rennet for use in the elaboration of Torta del Casar cheese, Journal of Dairy Research 80(4):429–438 (abstract)paper
  5. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov