Cheese Database

Castelo Branco cheese vs Serra da Estrela

Castelo Branco cheese

Facts

Milk
Sheep
Texture
Semi-hard
Type
Pressed
Rind
Natural rind
Country
Portugal
Place
Beira Baixa

Castelo Branco cheese is a sheep's milk cheese from Beira Baixa, in Portugal. It is one of the traditional cheeses of that inland region, made as a round with a yellowish paste. The body can be semi-soft or semi-hard, depending on how far the wheel has aged. A natural rind runs from straw color toward a deeper yellow or a light reddish tone. Cardoon, a vegetable rennet, sets the milk, which gives the cheese its soft tang.

Serra da Estrela

Facts

Milk
Sheep
Texture
Soft
Type
Pressed
Rind
Natural rind
Country
Portugal
Place
Serra da Estrela

Serra da Estrela is a sheep's milk cheese from the Serra da Estrela mountains in Portugal. Shepherds and small dairies set the milk with a thistle flower, not with animal rennet, and that choice shapes both the texture and the taste. A ripe wheel can turn so soft that people spoon the center. A wheel kept longer becomes firmer and better for grating. The mountain range and the name on the cheese are the same place.