Serrada
4 de December de 2024
Aracena
Huelva
Aracena is located at the western end of Sierra Morena, in the north of the province of Huelva, and is the capital and most populated centre of the region that gives it its name and which forms the second largest natural park in Andalusia, the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Natural Park.
The municipality
The municipality of Aracena has seven population centres: the city of Aracena and the villages of Carboneras, Castañuelo, Corterrangel, Jabuguillo, La Umbría and Valdezufre. Within the city, the main attractions include: the Gruta de las Maravillas: the first cave to be opened to tourists in Spain, in 1914, and which is visited by more than 160,000 visitors a year. The Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Natural Park (the second largest in Andalusia, where chestnut and pasture ecosystems predominate) is also worth mentioning, as is its historic-artistic complex, declared a Site of Cultural Interest and the largest in the province of Huelva; as well as its gastronomic offer, in which Iberian pork products are widely known and recognised, but also others such as honey, mushrooms, chestnuts and, of course, cheese.
The cheese
Aracena cheese, also known as Sierra de Aracena cheese, is made exclusively from raw goat's milk and can be "sweated", "picón" or "aged" goat's milk. Its origin dates back at least to the time of Arab rule, as evidenced by studies carried out on agriculture during this period, when goat breeding and cheese making are already documented.
Although goats of the Andalusian white breed produce meat, they also produce milk rich in fat and very aromatic, the result of these animals using the grass in the undergrowth of the oak and cork oak pastures.
Aracena cheese is an acid-enzymatic coagulation cheese, moderately pressed. Therefore, it is a compact paste, salted superficially with dry salt. Matured for at least two months in a very humid environment, with frequent rubbing of the surface with your hands to encourage the development of certain orange yeasts and bacteria and whitish moulds that are essential for the changes in texture, flavour and aromas obtained in this cheese, achieving a syrupy rind.
CHEESE FACTORIES
Quesería Monte Robledo
In Aracena, Monte Robledo cheeses come from the milk of the goats on the farm itself, which graze on free-range farms. They feed on what each natural season offers them, such as strawberry trees, rockroses, acorns, etc. The farm is certified organic, and dairy production is scarce but rich and aromatic.
