Cheese Database

Queijo do Pico vs Serra da Estrela

Queijo do Pico

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Soft
Type
Pressed
Rind
Natural rind
Country
Portugal
Place
Azores

Queijo do Pico is a soft cured cheese from the island of Pico in the Azores, Portugal. It is made from raw cow's milk, animal rennet, and salt. The wheels are low and round, with a yellow rind and a pale, pasty interior that can show small eyes. The smell is strong and pleasant, and the taste is salty and rich. Island households kept the method for generations before the cheese became a named product of the Azores.

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.