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Cheese from Spain, Castile and León, the province of Zamora

Zamorano PDOQueso Zamorano

Whole milk of Churra and Castellana ewes is set with rennet at 28–35 °C, cut into small grains, warmed to no more than 40 °C and pressed into flat cylinders. The wheels are brined or dry-salted, then ripened at least 100 days, or 60 days for small cheeses, into a hard sheep cheese whose sides carry the mark of a woven esparto band.

Fully documentedCheese2 monthsPDO (EU), registered 1996 by Reg. (EC) No 1107/96; specification amended by Reg. (EU) 2015/625 (application published 16.12.2014)Family: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification fixes limits, not a recipe. Finished wheels weigh up to 4 kg.
Whole ewe milkChurra and Castellana breeds or their F1 crosses with Spanish Assaf; at least 6.5 % fat, 5 % protein and 17 % total solids[zamorano-spec2014]
RennetDosed to set the milk in 20–60 minutes[zamorano-spec2014]
SaltBy brine or by dry salting[zamorano-spec2014]

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months

Start
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What changes: Starting material: whole milk of Churra and Castellana ewes

Step 1 of 7
Collect whole ewe milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The ewes graze pasture, stubble and crop leftovers; in winter and at lambing their feed is topped up with good hay and legume or cereal straw.

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

Whole milk of Churra and Castellana ewes is set with rennet at 28–35 °C, cut into small grains, warmed to no more than 40 °C and pressed into flat cylinders. The wheels are brined or dry-salted, then ripened at least 100 days, or 60 days for small cheeses, into a hard sheep cheese whose sides carry the mark of a woven esparto band. Made in 7 steps over 2 months. The longest step, ripen, turn and clean, takes at least 2 months (Instituto Tecnológico Agrario de Castilla y L…) and runs at 10–12 °C (Otero V 2022).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsSet[zamorano-spec2014]Ripen, turn and clean
Temperature10–12 °CReported[otero2022]Ripen, turn and clean
AciditypH 4.8–5.8Set[zamorano-spec2014]Ripen, turn and clean

What makes this one different

Zamorano is made only from Churra and Castellana ewes or their first crosses, whose milk is very rich (at least 6.5 % fat). Large wheels must ripen at least 100 days, and the ripe paste can show small white tyrosine crystals.

Milk
Whole ewe milk of Churra and Castellana breeds or their F1 crosses with Spanish Assaf
Paste
Pressed, hard; at least 45 % fat and 30 % protein in dry matter, at least 55 % dry matter, pH 4.8–5.8
Ripening
At least 100 days (60 days under 1.5 kg)
Size
Flat cylinder up to 14 cm high, 24 cm across and 4 kg

Related ferments

Variants

  • Small ZamoranoWheels under 1.5 kg may be sold after 60 days instead of 100.

Safety

The specification does not require raw milk. In a 2022 trial, E. coli O157:H7 added to raw ewe milk fell during ripening at 10–12 °C but was still found after two months, so raw-milk Zamorano depends on clean milk. ANSES advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and people with weak immunity to avoid raw-milk cheeses other than cooked pressed ones such as Gruyère or Comté.

Hazards the sources name: Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7, added to raw ewe milk in a trial; it fell during ripening but was still found after 2 months.

History and sources

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

Zamora documents from the resettlement of the mid-11th century mention cheese, and local agrarian charters from the later 11th century list it among food given to vassals. The Catastro of the Marquis of Ensenada recorded the province's cheese and flocks in 1752. Small family dairies began in the late 19th century and grew into today's industry. Zamora supplies 18 % of Spain's ewe milk. An amendment applied for in 2012 and published on 16 December 2014 let makers use milk from first crosses with Spanish Assaf rams, lowered the minimum milk fat from 7 % to 6.5 % and cut the minimum ripening of cheeses under 1.5 kg to 60 days; Regulation (EU) 2015/625 of 20 April 2015 approved it.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov
  2. [zamorano-spec2014] Instituto Tecnológico Agrario de Castilla y León, Pliego de condiciones DOP "Queso Zamorano" PDO-ES-0089, revision 1 (2015), with the single document published in Official Journal C 449, 16.12.2014, p. 3spec
  3. [oj-2014] European Commission 2014, Publication of an amendment application, 'Queso Zamorano' (ES-PDO-0117-01031-14.8.2012), with the single document, Official Journal of the EU C 449, 16 December 2014, p. 3spec
  4. [reg-2015] European Commission 2015, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/625 approving non-minor amendments to the specification for 'Queso Zamorano' (PDO), Official Journal of the EU L 103, 22 April 2015, p. 5spec
  5. [otero2022] Otero V., Santos J.A., Rodríguez-Calleja J.M., García-López M.L. 2022, Behavior of Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli in ewe milk stored at different temperatures and during the manufacture and ripening of a raw milk sheep cheese (Zamorano style), Journal of Dairy Science 105:6527–6535 (abstract)paper