Idiazabal cheese is a pressed cheese made from unpasteurized milk that can only come from the latxa breed of sheep in the Basque region of Spain. It is traditionally smoke in the chimmies of the shepards mountain hut. The cheese is handmade and covered in a hard, dark brown, inedible rind. It is aged for a few months and develops a nutty, buttery flavour, eaten fresh, often with quince jam. If aged longer, it becomes firm, dry and sharp and can be used for grating. |
