This is the undisputed leader of the Spanish cheeses, also known as “cabraliego”. It is a serious cheese, with a strong smell and potent flavor, semi-hard, and streaked with bluish green because of the penicillin. The rind is soft, sticky, brownish-gray or even darker. The paste is soft, creamy, whitish-yellow, with blue streaks. It has no holes (as does Swiss cheese), but it does have some cavities. Its buttery taste is followed by a strong aftertaste. Due to current regulations, wrapping the cheese in dry chestnut leaves or wild fig leaves is no longer permitted, and it has become necessary to substitute this traditional presentation with thin aluminum foil, printed with pictures of the leaves.

Cabrales is on of the greatest culinary ambassadors of Asturias around the world. Consequently, it has inspired the most literature, investigation and is the most appreciated of all cheeses from this region. Traditionally, Cabrales is produced in the Spring and Summer, though nowadays it is made throughout the whole year. It is said to have a heritage of more than 1.000 years, and no one dares doubt that. Its name comes from the Asturian village where it has been made for centuries.

This cheese is produced from fresh cow’s milk throughout the year and during the grazing of June and July. It is mixed with goat and sheep milk to obtain a cheese of excellent quality. The maturing process is between two and five months long in natural caves throughout the Cabrales region. Here, a fungus belonging to the penicillin genus grows naturally. After mixing and heating the milk, the rennet is added, it is all mixed again and it is left to set until the next day. Then the curd is cut up in the size of a chick pea bean and these pieces are set in the mold, allowing the whey to separate naturally. The curd is left in the mold for some 24 hours and turned over every two or three hours. Once it has reached the proper consistency, the mold is removed and the cheese is salted by hand on both sides and is then left to air for several days at a moderate temperature until the greater part of the whey is separated. After this, the cheeses are taken to the maturing caves, where they are turned over often and are left for two to five months.