🧀 San Simón da Costa

San Simón da Costa is a Spanish cheese with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), made from cow's milk in the Terra Chá district of Lugo province, Galicia. According to the published summary of the specification, its shape is between pear-shaped and bullet-shaped, ending in a point at the top.

The milk is whole, natural, raw or pasteurised, from Galician Blond, Brown Swiss and Friesian cows and their crosses. It is coagulated with rennet, the curd is pressed and the cheeses are salted in brine. The cheeses are then aged and smoked; the smoking always uses birch wood without bark.

The rind is smoked, hard, 1–3 mm thick, yellowy-ochre and somewhat oily. The paste is fine, semi-hard, dense and semi-elastic, between white and yellow, with a few small eyes. Dry extract is at least 55%, and fat is 45–60% of dry extract.

There are two sizes. The large cheese is aged at least 45 days, weighs 0.8–1.5 kg and is 13–18 cm high. The small one, called Bufón, is aged at least 30 days, weighs 0.4–0.8 kg and is 10–13 cm high.

Milk is produced and cheese made in the Terra Chá municipalities of Vilalba, Muras, Xermade, Abadín, Guitiriz, Begonte, Castro de Rei, Cospeito and A Pastoriza. Each cheese carries a numbered secondary label issued by the inspection body.