🧀 Queso Palmero / Queso de la Palma

Queso Palmero (also Queso de la Palma) is a Spanish cheese with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) from the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, made from goat's milk and set with kid rennet.

Milk. Only milk from goats of the Palmera breed; milking may be by hand or machine, and the milk is filtered right after milking.

Method. The milk is set with natural rennet from suckling kids; coagulation takes about 45 minutes on average. The curd is cut until the grain is small, put into ring moulds (aros) and pressed to drain the whey. It is usually dry-salted. Not all cheeses are smoked: those that are get their smoke from almond shells, prickly pear or Canary pine. During maturing the cheeses are turned regularly and the rind is coated with olive oil and gofio or flour.

Types. Tierno (young) 8–20 days, semicurado 21–60 days and curado over 60 days. Fresh cheese under 8 days is not certified and carries no back label of the regulatory council.

Look and taste. A cylinder with flat faces, 6–15 cm high and 12–60 cm across; the artisan type weighs under 8 kg, while the de manada type is always above 8 kg. Unsmoked cheeses have a white rind that turns ochre with age; smoked ones show darker horizontal bands. The paste is white and glossy, becoming matt and ivory as it matures. The aroma of goat's milk is immediately recognisable, with notes of the smoking materials in smoked cheeses.

Why it matters to you: each certified cheese carries an individually numbered back label of the Consejo Regulador, which certifies that it meets the quality parameters of the PDO.

The cheese belongs to Semi-hard cheeses, Cheeses of Spain and Protected cheese names; its raw material is goat's milk. For pairings see Wine and cheese.