Cheese Database

Pule cheese vs Manchego

Pule cheese, field guide plate

Pule cheese

Facts

Milk
Mixed milk
Texture
Semi-hard
Country
Serbia

Pule cheese is a rare Serbian cheese made from donkey milk mixed with goat's milk. The paste is pale and firm enough to cut, and it is produced in very small amounts rather than as a shop staple. Donkey milk is scarce, so this is not a cheese you will find in an ordinary grocery case. The goat's milk helps the batch set and gives the body more richness than donkey milk alone would have. Treat it as a specialty for tasting, not as a weekly cooking cheese.

Manchego, field guide plate
Manchego, photographed

Manchego

Facts

Milk
Sheep
Texture
Semi-hard
Type
Pressed
Rind
Natural rind
Country
Spain
Place
La Mancha
Status
PDO

Manchego is a pressed sheep's-milk cheese from La Mancha, and a protected name. The milk comes from Manchega sheep. The traditional rind shows a herringbone pattern from the old esparto molds.