Tetilla is also known as perilla (pear) cheese because of the shape the finished piece takes. Produced from Friesian, Brown Alpine and Blonde Galician cows milk, the Tetilla cheese comes from the Galician countryside. Its rind is thin, yellow and has no mold. The paste is soft, creamy, uniform, with few holes and ivory-white in color. Tetilla has a soft, lactic, oily and slightly acidic taste, with a light touch of salt. In all, the flavor of this cheese reminds us of the milk it is produced from. The history of the Tetilla cheese is comparable to that from Ulloa. Tetilla is produced from the milk of cows that graze in the coastal mountain range. The master cheesemakers modeled this cheese by hand. The milk is curdled and heated to between 28º and 32ºC, while natural rennet is added. The mass is then cut into large pieces and, once it has become more firm, it is poured into the molds, or cuncas. It is then lightly pressed in order to remove the whey and the process is finalized by salting the pieces in brine. Originally, the salt was mixed directly into the paste before pressing. The curing is done in a typically Galician fresh and humid ambiance, lasting between 10 and 30 days. |
