Queso de Idiazábal is the pressed sheep's-milk cheese of the Basque Country and Navarre — made from raw Latxa sheep milk, aged 2-12 months, with a dense paste, a dark rind, and a smoky, nutty, slightly piquant flavor. It is the cheese of every Basque cider house and txoko dinner, eaten with quince paste and walnuts after the meal.
Queso de Idiazábal is named after the village of Idiazabal in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country, but the cheese is made across the Basque Country and Navarre. The Latxa breed of sheep grazes the green mountain pastures; its milk is rich and intense, and raw-milk cheesemaking preserves that intensity. The cheese holds a Protected Denomination of Origin. Smoked versions come from mountain cheesemakers who hung the cheese over the wood fire; today the smoking is optional and indicated on the rind.
A slice of dense, ivory cheese with a dark smoked rind. The paste is firm and slightly crumbly; the flavor opens with nutty sweetness, deepens into a smoky, buttery middle, and finishes with a gentle but persistent piquancy at the back of the throat. Pair it with quince paste (membrillo) and walnuts, and a glass of Basque cider.
The raw milk is curdled with natural lamb rennet (not calf), which gives the cheese its distinctive piquancy. The paste is pressed to expel whey, then aged in cool humid caves where it develops its rind and density. Smoking (when done) uses beech or cherry wood, hung above the fire, which flavors the rind and permeates the cheese.
Variations
Smoked and unsmoked versions exist; some are aged longer (curado, viejo); the ewe's diet (mountain herbs) shapes the flavor.
On the Palate
Where Queso de Idiazábal sits in the Spanish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
6 steps · 10 min
- 130 min
Bring the cheese to room temperature 30 minutes before serving.
- 23 min
Cut into 5-mm slices with a cheese knife; some rind may be left on.
- 32 min
Arrange on a wooden board with slices of quince paste (membrillo) and shelled walnuts.
- 43 min
Optional: warm the slices briefly under a broiler until just beginning to melt.
- 51 min
Serve with a glass of Basque cider or a young red wine.
- 61 min
Eat slowly; the flavor develops in the mouth.
