Picos d’ Europa

Picos de Europa, also known as Valdeon, is a Spanish blue cheese produced in Valdeon Valley of Castile-Leon region of the northwestern Spain.

The cheese is made all year round with either cow or goat’s milk or a mixture of both which happens to be case here. The cheese has very dense blue veining and comes wrapped in maple or chestnut leaves.

Queso di Valdeon has been awarded a status of Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) to regulate the production, processing and preparation of the cheese. In 2005, the the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food granted the cheese an award for best Blue Veined Spanish Cheese.

A bold and salty cheese, Picos de Europa has a uniqueness in its manufacturing process, which includes long and traditional maturing in the cold, damp cellars until the cheese reaches a mature or medium mature age. The body of Picos de Europa has a soft, granular texture and pale yellow colour and is full of small cavities filled with blue moulds. Covered by a coarse, inconsistent rind in dark grey shades with little red marks.

Picos de Europa is very strong and spicy in taste similar to Roquefort. A powerful and punchy smelling cheese, Picos de Europa has a buttery paste which is perfect for preparing any kind of blue cheese sauce. The rich taste of the cheese makes a good accompaniment to fresh fruit and a full bodied red wine or sherry.