🧀 Queso de Acehúche

Queso de Acehúche is a Spanish semi-hard cheese with a protected designation of origin (PDO) from the province of Cáceres in Extremadura. It is made exclusively from raw goat's milk and belongs to the semi-hard cheeses and to the Spanish cheeses.

The milk comes from goats of the Murciana-Granadina, Florida, Malagueña, Retinta and Verata breeds and their crosses, kept on registered holdings in the production area. The herds are farmed extensively or semi-extensively on the natural resources of the area, with supplementary feed only in periods of greatest need. The milk must be raw, whole and non-standardised, with at least 7 % fat plus protein. The area covers 31 municipalities in the Tajo-Salor-Almonte and Valle del Alagón districts, some of them within Monfragüe National Park; the cheese is named after the village of Acehúche.

Milk production and cheesemaking (coagulation, cutting, moulding, pressing, salting and maturing) must take place in the area. The curd is drained only lightly, which gives a soft paste. The cheese matures for at least 40 days, and a characteristic smear may form on the rind. In the traditional «sobao» technique the cheeses are washed by hand with wet hands once the rind has started to form, which leaves a smooth rind and rounded edges.

A cheese is a cylinder at least 7 cm across, with a height of no more than half the diameter, weighing 200–1,200 g, and contains at least 45 % fat in dry matter. The rind is naturally waxy, yellow to dark ochre and slightly rough; the cheese may be sold as it is or coated in paprika or oil. The paste is white to ivory, compact, semi-hard and elastic, may have a few small round holes, and feels soft and slightly melting. The flavour is low in saltiness, moderately acidic and mildly bitter and pungent, more so in older cheeses.

Each whole or cut cheese carries a certification label with a unique serial number, the words Denominación de Origen Protegida Queso de Acehúche and, if used, the word «sobao». Portions may be cut at retail only in front of the consumer.