This cheese was initially produced with fresh sheep’s milk and is now made from cow’s milk or a mixture of both. It is cylindrical and yellowish in color and is semi-cured to cured. Its flavor is quite peculiar, somewhat sharp and with a compact or closed paste (hence its name “Serrat”, Catalan). Originally, it was produced in spring and the beginning of summer, but today, the few livestock breeders who still produce this cheese make an effort to do so throughout the year, except for the end of fall and the beginning of winter.

This is one of the oldest cheeses in Spain, representing the shepherd culture of the Pyrenean valleys, where over the years the indigenous Txiqueta and Ripollesa sheep have been adapting to the rough, cold climate and the high altitudes. At first, the sheep was used for meat, but as time has gone by, cheese production using its milk has grown more important.

The milk is heated to 34º - 36ºC (93.2 – 96.8ºF) and is curdled with vegetable rennet. Nowadays, animal rennet is also used. The curdled mass is cut into pieces the size of a grain of rice, the whey is removed and it is placed in a mold to be pressed. Next, it is salted and, finally, it is taken to a cool and slightly humid cellar for the curing process that will last at least two or three months.