Sensory profiles of Iberian and related cheese varieties

This chapter reviews the sensory characteristics of cheeses from Spain and Portugal, where these characteristics are influenced by unique production, often with raw milk, in very specific regions, from native breeds fed with pasture and following traditional cheesemaking methods, giving rise to a great variety of cheeses, with their own and very particular shapes and characteristics. This includes cheeses with protected designation of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indication (PGI), made from sheep's, goat's or cow's milk and their mixtures (binary or tertiary). We find cheeses made with goat's milk having a strong and aromatic flavour and piquant notes characteristic of goat's milk. We also discover cow's milk cheeses with a creamier and smoother flavour. The most famous and internationally recognised cheeses are made from sheep's milk, with special flavours and aromas, especially those made with vegetable rennet, which provide truly unique characteristics.