Queso de la Murcia al Vino
Acrimur y Fecoam
Avda. de Levante, 53, Entlo. 9 "Ed. Gèminis"
30520 Jumilla (Murcia)
CONSEJO REGULADOR DE LAS DENOMINACIONES DE ORIGEN "QUESO DE MURCIA Y QUESO DE MURCIA AL VINO"
AVDA. DE LEVANTE, 53, ENTLO, 9
Edif.Gèminis 30520 - JUMILLA (Murcia)
Tel: +34/968783804
Fax: +34/968783796
quesosdemurcia@quesosdemurcia.com
Full-fat cheese, pressed, washed but not cooked, made with Murcian goats' milk. The cheese is cylindrical in form, between 6 cm and 7 cm high, with a diameter of 7 cm to 9 cm and a weight of 400 g or between 7 cm and 9 cm high, with a diameter of between 12 cm and 18 cm and a weight of 1 kg or 2 kg. The rind is smooth and very thin, with a deep red colour obtained by immersing the cheese in red doble pasta wine during maturing.
The interior is dense with a creamy, elastic texture. It is white in colour with a few small holes. It
has a pleasantly tangy, very slightly salty taste and the smell is mild. It is marketed from 45 days
after manufacture, although the small cheeses may be marketed after 30 days.
The production area includes all the municipalities of the Province of Murcia in south-east Spain.
The cheese is manufactured and matured in the production area.
The topography and landscape of the area are very varied and enjoy particular climatic conditions (sub-tropical Mediterranean climate with low rainfall and high temperatures, generally saline soils and scant water resources). The area is generally scrub or pastureland. Scrub rich in Labiatae and Cistaceae is very common and provides the principal source of food for goats in dry, mountainous areas.
The milk used for the manufacture of this cheese comes from Murcian goats on holdings entered in the relevant register. The animals feed mainly on the Mediterranean herbage and fodder in the defined geographical area. A complex of factors, comprising the diet, stockraising methods, human experience, the soil and the climatic conditions, guarantees and limits the geographical origin of the cheeses. Both the raw material and the manufacturing process are subject to checks in order to ensure the quality of the final product. After checking, the cheeses are marketed with a numbered label guaranteeing their origin. The milk is obtained under hygienic conditions using hand or mechanical milking. The milk is filtered and then coagulated using animal rennet or other authorised enzymes at 30 °C to 34 °C for 40 to 60 minutes. The curd is cut into 6 mm to 8 mm diameter granules. It is then washed, 15 % of the whey extracted and water subsequently added. It is heated to bring the temperature up to 3 °C to 5 °C above the coagulating temperature. The curd is worked lightly and then placed in patternless moulds. The cheese is pressed for two to four hours until the correct pH level is reached before salting for a maximum of 20 hours with saline solution of a maximum of 20° Bè. It is matured for a minimum of 45 days during which time it is immersed several times in Murcian red doble pasta wine. Small cheeses must be matured for a minimum of 30 days.
Traditionally, fresh goats' milk cheese has been made throughout Murcia for home consumption or for sale in nearby villages, markets or bars. At the end of the 19th century, Murcian goat-breeders began to specialise in diary production. Panès, in .La cabra Murciana: su explotación, cuidados y mejora. (1922), says that the cheese could be eaten immediately or matured, that the milk was coagulated using kids' rennet macerated in wine and that maturing involved salting the cheeses and moistening them repeatedly with wine. The first references to established industrial processing date from the twenties.
