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Cheese from Portugal, Terra Quente Transmontana and the upper Douro

Queijo Terrincho

Raw milk from Churra da Terra Quente ewes is set with animal rennet at 30–35 °C, and the curds are drained slowly and pressed; a pneumatic press takes 3–5 hours. The salted cheeses ripen at least 30 days at 5–12 °C and are washed to keep the rind smooth. Velho is ripened at least 90 days and may be coated in a paste of red pepper with grape-marc spirit or olive oil.

Fully documentedCheese3.9 months – 4 monthsPDO (DOP, registered 21 June 1996; amended 2020)Family: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe only amounts are the salt share and the red pepper paste. A normal cheese weighs 0.7–1.1 kg; the small merendeira 0.35–0.55 kg.
Raw ewe milkPure milk of Churra da Terra Quente ewes, worked straight after milking[oj-2020]
Animal rennet[oj-2020]
Food-grade salt15–20 % of the cheese's weightAs the specification states[oj-2020]
Grape-marc spirit or virgin olive oil, mixed with red pepperAbout 250 ml per 1 kg of red pepperOptional paste for coating Velho, made fresh for each coating[oj-2020]

Total time across the recorded steps: 3.9 months – 4 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
up to 6 °C

What changes: Starting material: raw milk from Churra da Terra Quente ewes

Step 1 of 7
Work the milk straight after milking
Time
Not documented
Temperature
up to 6 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactobacilli

Output: raw ewe milk.

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

At a glance

Raw milk from Churra da Terra Quente ewes is set with animal rennet at 30–35 °C, and the curds are drained slowly and pressed; a pneumatic press takes 3–5 hours. The salted cheeses ripen at least 30 days at 5–12 °C and are washed to keep the rind smooth. Velho is ripened at least 90 days and may be coated in a paste of red pepper with grape-marc spirit or olive oil. Made in 7 steps over 3.9 months – 4 months. The longest step, age Velho, optionally coated in red pepper, takes at least 3 months (European Commission 2020) and runs at 8–14 °C (European Commission 2020). Salt is 15–20 % (European Commission 2020). Lactococci, lactobacilli and enterococci does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 3 monthsSet[oj-2020]Age Velho, optionally coated in red pepper
Temperature8–14 °CSet[oj-2020]Age Velho, optionally coated in red pepper
Salt15–20 %Set[oj-2020]Salt

What makes this one different

It is made only from the raw milk of one local sheep breed, the Churra da Terra Quente, with animal rennet rather than cardoon. The aged Velho is preserved in two old local ways, a coat of red pepper paste or immersion in olive oil.

Milk
Raw milk of Churra da Terra Quente ewes only
Type
Uncooked, pressed cheese made from raw whole ewe milk; Ferreira et al. (2006) abstract
Composition
Fat 25–50 % of dry matter (Velho 35–60 %); moisture in non-fat solids 35–60 % (Velho 20–55 %)
Size
0.7–1.1 kg, 12–20 cm across, 3–6 cm high; merendeira 0.35–0.55 kg

Related ferments

Variants

  • TerrinchoRipened at least 30 days; semi-soft.
  • Terrincho VelhoRipened at least 90 days at 8–14 °C; hard.
  • Velho com pimentãoVelho coated in red pepper with grape-marc spirit or olive oil.
  • Velho em azeiteVelho, whole or in pieces, kept in containers of virgin olive oil.

Safety

Made from raw milk and ripened at least 30 days. A study of farm cheeses found that about 220 g would have to be eaten at one time to reach the worst-case risk level for biogenic amines. Long-term storage is allowed at no lower than −11 °C.

History and sources

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

The original application cites a 1512 charter of Mirandela, the Foral de Mirandela of King Manuel I, that mentions "dry cheeses", and studies dating from 1900. The 2020 single document traces the Churra da Terra Quente breed to crosses of the older Badana sheep with Mondegueiro rams at the end of the 19th century. The cheese was registered as a PDO on 21 June 1996. The 2020 amendment set the coagulation range, the ripening conditions for Velho and the pepper-paste and olive-oil forms.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [oj-2020] European Commission 2020, Publication of an application for approval of an amendment, 'Queijo Terrincho' (PDO-PT-0218-AM01), single document, Official Journal of the EU C 186, 5 June 2020, p. 8spec
  2. [pintado2008] Pintado A.I.E., Pinho O., Ferreira I.M.P.L.V.O., Pintado M.M.E., Gomes A.M.P., Malcata F.X. 2008, Microbiological, biochemical and biogenic amine profiles of Terrincho cheese manufactured in several dairy farms, International Dairy Journal 18(6):631–640 (abstract)paper
  3. [ferreira2006] Ferreira I.M.P.L.V.O., Veiros C., Pinho O., Veloso A.C.A., Peres A.M., Mendonça A. 2006, Casein breakdown in Terrincho ovine cheese - comparison with bovine cheese and with bovine/ovine cheeses, Journal of Dairy Science 89:2397–2407 (abstract)paper
  4. [app-1993] Queitec cooperative 1993, Application for registration of the PDO 'Queijo Terrincho' (Annex I summary of the specification, English text), European Commission eAmbrosia registerspec
  5. [eambrosia-reg] European Commission, eAmbrosia register record for 'Queijo Terrincho' (PDO-PT-0218), EU protection date 1996-06-21spec