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Cheese from Asturias, Spain

Cabrales PDOCabrales

Raw cow milk, alone or mixed with sheep or goat milk in spring and summer, is set slowly with a little animal rennet at 22–35 °C. The curd is cut to 1–2 cm, self-pressed in moulds, dry-salted on both faces and aired for about 15 days. The cheeses then ripen at least two months from the curd date, mostly in natural limestone caves where blue mould colonises them.

Fully documentedCheese2.6 months – 2.7 monthsPDO (DOP, Spain; EU registration 1996)Family: Blue-veined cheese family (Roquefort as template)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedFarm make with no fixed batch size; the rules give no amounts.
Raw whole milkCow, sheep or goat, or a mix of two or three; no preservatives[cabrales-pliego]
Animal rennetA small amount, so the milk sets slowly[cabrales-pliego]
Dry saltSprinkled on each face in turn[cabrales-pliego]
Lactococcus lactis starter and Penicillium roqueforti sporesNow common practice; the cheese was once made with neither[rodriguez2025]
Startertraditionally none; a native Lactococcus lactis starter and P. roqueforti spores are now common

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.6 months – 2.7 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countLactococcus lactisPenicillium roqueforti22–35 °C

What changes: A little rennet sets the raw milk slowly into a soft, acid curd

Step 1 of 6
Set the milk slowly with animal rennet
Time
1–3 h
Set
Temperature
22–35 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
Penicillium roqueforti

One study describes evening and morning milk curdled at 28–30 °C. Output: curd.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
soft, acid gel
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

a mixed lactic and rennet set

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

At a glance

Raw cow milk, alone or mixed with sheep or goat milk in spring and summer, is set slowly with a little animal rennet at 22–35 °C. The curd is cut to 1–2 cm, self-pressed in moulds, dry-salted on both faces and aired for about 15 days. The cheeses then ripen at least two months from the curd date, mostly in natural limestone caves where blue mould colonises them. Made in 6 steps over 2.6 months – 2.7 months. The longest step, ripen in a mountain cave, takes at least 2 months (Principado de Asturias) and runs at 6–10 °C (Principado de Asturias). Lactococcus lactis and Penicillium roqueforti do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsSet[cabrales-pliego]Ripen in a mountain cave
Temperature6–10 °CSet[cabrales-pliego]Ripen in a mountain cave

What makes this one different

The rules require no added Penicillium; the mould has traditionally come from the cave air, although adding spores is now common. The milk is raw and may be a mix of cow, sheep and goat.

Milk
Raw cow, sheep or goat milk, or a mix of two or three
Ripening
At least 2 months from the curd date, mostly in caves
Composition
At least 45 % fat in dry matter
Size
Cylinders 7–15 cm high; the width is never less than the height

Related ferments

Variants

  • Mixed-milk CabralesCow, sheep and goat milk mixed, mainly in spring and summer; sharper flavour.

Safety

Raw-milk cheese ripened at least two months. A study of 16 long-ripened Cabrales cheeses (exact age not known, perhaps 6–12 months) found coliforms and Enterobacteriaceae below the culture detection limit (2 log CFU/g) and few DNA reads from pathogens. Its authors say the DNA results point to a microbiologically safe cheese, but viable pathogens were not tested for, apart from S. aureus, and they call the sample small. The same study found moderate to high biogenic amines; histamine and tyramine can reach levels of concern, though the small portions usually eaten make poisoning by them unlikely; the authors advise sensitive people or those taking MAO inhibitors to avoid aged cheeses.

History and sources

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

The specification says Cabrales began as a shepherds' cheese made in the summer high pastures, with the milk of cows and of sheep and goats mixed, and so a seasonal cheese. It now makes it all year, using only cow milk outside spring and summer. The specification cites Jovellanos (18th century), Madoz's geographic dictionary (early 19th century) and cheeses shown at the 1857 Madrid agricultural exhibition. A ministerial order of 9 May 1981 gave the denomination provisional recognition. Cheeses were once wrapped in plágano leaves for market; food-grade paper has replaced them.

  1. [cabrales-pliego] Principado de Asturias, Expediente (pliego de condiciones) de la Denominación de Origen Protegida "Cabrales"spec
  2. [rodriguez2025] Rodríguez J., Suárez P.R. et al. 2025, Microbial and biochemical analyses of high-quality, long-ripened, blue-veined Cabrales cheese, Foods 14(13):2366paper
  3. [oj1996] Commission Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 of 12 June 1996 on the registration of geographical indications and designations of origin under the procedure laid down in Article 17 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, Official Journal L 148, 21.6.1996 (Annex lists Cabrales as a PDO cheese)spec