Idazabal

Traditional, unpasteurized, hard spanish cheese made from cow’s milk. It is cylindrical in shape, pale yellow to amber in color. The natural rind is smooth and hard. It has a compact texture, with a few pinprick holes. Its texture is dry, but not crumbly, and feels pleasantly oily in the mouth. The rind carries the marks of the wooden moulds in which it is drained. The characteristic, smoky flavor was originally the result of the cheese having been stored near the shepherd’s night fires. There were no chimneys in the simple mountain huts, so the cheese absorbed the sweet, aromatic smoke.