Serpa cheese vs Torta del Casar
Serpa cheese
Facts
- Milk
- Sheep
- Texture
- Semi-soft
- Type
- Pressed
- Rind
- Natural rind
- Country
- Portugal
- Place
- Alentejo
Serpa cheese is a semi-soft sheep's milk cheese from Portugal. It is formed in low rounds, with a thin straw-colored rind and a pale, moist paste. Thistle rennet, drawn from the cardoon flower, sets the milk and shapes the aroma. A young cheese can be soft enough to spoon, while an older one turns firmer and spicier. Sheep's milk and that vegetable rennet define the style.
Torta del Casar
Facts
- Milk
- Sheep
- Texture
- Soft
- Type
- Pressed
- Rind
- Natural rind
- Country
- Spain
- Place
- P.D.O.
Torta del Casar is a soft sheep's milk cheese from Spain. The word torta means a cake, and a ripe wheel settles into a low round instead of standing tall and firm. Makers set the milk with cardoon, a kind of thistle, instead of animal rennet. That plant coagulant is why the center becomes almost spoonable while a thin rind still holds the shape. The paste is rich, a little bitter, and meant to be scooped.