A Cheese That Will Make You Come Back For More.

Sept. 1, 2010 - PRLog -- Mahon cheese: a soft to hard white cheese made from cow's milk, obviously it is named after the city it comes from. Mahon is a port city on the Island of Menorca off the Mediterranean coast of Spain, and is known for its cheese production and is home to one of the most respected dairy plants in Europe.

It is said that nearly a century ago the 'los recogedores-afinadores' ('gatherer-ripeners') emerged as a class of island society in Menorca. Their work comprised of trading and distributing farm products, seeds, utensils, foods, and other things. In exchange of these tasks farmers would give them fresh cheeses. To store the cheeses, the recogedores had underground caves which were used for careful and novel ageing of the cheeses. They controlled everything in production, from the changing winds and temperature level to the handling of the product. In doing so they were able to acquire the original cheese from Mahon. This is a soft, aired or cured type of cheese that they would then sell in diverse markets of the islands and the peninsula. Their careful nature and techniques was what made the Mahon cheese famous and made it a sought after export.

The cheese is box shaped, pressed raw, has rounded corners and cured. It has a distinctive look that is exclusive to Menorca, this is down to the traditional techniques in compliance with the regulation regarding its designation of origin or Denominacion de Origen as it is officially called. This award was bestowed on the cheese in 1985 and the word Menorca was added 13 years later.

Cheese has been and still is the symbolic product of Menorca, this is made on the island with the cow's milk, set at low temperatures, salted by immersion and cured according to local Menorcan customs. Thanks to the tradition, it is considered one of the pillars on which part of Menorca's history, livestock and culinary traditions are based.

Mahon cheese has some characteristics that are specific to it, despite it ageing the cheese is buttery sharp, slightly salty and lightly aromatic in taste, some have said it has sweet and nutty aromas.  The cheese is sweet and fruity, but can at times taster slightly salty due to the sea salt content in the grasses that the cows eat. The rinds colour comes from the fact that it is rubbed with butter or oil and paprika. As it reaches maturity it tends to have small misshapen holes and has some granularity.  In general, all age Mahon has proliferation of tiny holes and it usually takes 10 months for the cheese to mature.  

There is a younger version of the cheese - 'Artesano Mahón' - which is aged no longer than three months and is softer than traditional Mahon. They say it is important to keep young Mahon in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator or cooler, also stored in an airtight plastic wrapping to preserve its softness whereas the aged cheese must be wrapped in foil or waxed paper - so there is a top tip if you are staying in Mahon, which also has some of the best Menorca villas.








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