🧀 Queijo S. Jorge

Queijo S. Jorge is a cured Portuguese cheese with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), registered in the EU in 1996. The specification defines it as a firm cheese with a yellowish, hard to semi-hard, crumbly paste, made by draining and pressing the curd of whole raw cow milk produced on the island of São Jorge.

Making. According to the DGADR description, the raw milk is curdled with animal rennet and refined salt is added; a numbered casein seal and a producer code are placed on the cheese, so its age and maker can be traced. The pressed cheese rests for 30 days at ambient temperature and then ripens for at least 60 more days at 12–14 °C and 80–85% humidity. The specification sets a minimum ripening time of three months.

Look and taste. A regular cylinder, usually 25–35 cm across and 10–15 cm high, generally weighing 8–12 kg. The rind is hard, smooth and dark yellow, sometimes with reddish-brown patches, and may be coated with paraffin or other colourless coatings. The paste is firm, sometimes crumbly, yellowish, with many small irregular eyes. The bouquet is strong and clean, slightly spicy. It is a full-fat cheese: at least 45% fat in dry matter.

Area and labelling. The cow milk and the cheese must both come from the island of São Jorge. Besides the legal requirements, the label must show the sales name “Queijo São Jorge”, the name and address of the producer and the warehouse keeper, the fat class or fat content, the quantity and the denomination of origin indication.