Mahon DOP

Nearly a 100 years ago the gatherer-ripeners were said to have emerged as a class of island society in Menorca. They would receive fresh cheeses that the farmers brought to their houses. In order to store them, the gatherer-ripeners aged the cheeses in caves. They controlled everything in production, from the changing winds and temperature level to the correct handling of the product. Their careful techniques made famous Mahón cheese, and helped to make it a sought-after export.

Mahón DOP has some characteristics specific to it which despite ageing remain uniquely the same. Each cheese is wrapped in muslin and squeezed to expel the whey and then shaped into its distinctive pillow shape. In general the cheese has a buttery sharp and slightly salty taste with lightly aromatic sweet and nutty flavours developing on the tongue. This slightly salty taste is due in part to the sea salt content in the grasses the cows eat. The rind is generally an orange colour due to the rind being rubbed with butter, or oil, and paprika. As it reaches maturity (around 10 months) it tends to have small misshapen holes and has some granularity.

In general, all aged Mahón has a proliferation of tiny holes. This Mahon DOP cheese is made in the Subaida Dairy in Menorca. The dairy’s history has been linked with cheese making since 1930 and now the cheese making is done by the 3rd generation of the family cheese makers. Each cheese has been matured for at least 6 months and is made with locally sourced cows unpasteurised milk and animal rennet. This cheese won a Supergold medal at The World Cheese Awards in 2018/19 and 2019/20.