We present The Book of Cheese of Teruel, a new book published by the Association of Producers of Milk and Cheese of Teruel in which we belong as Artisan Cheese of Teruel (Cheeses Sierra de Albarracín) and sponsored by the Council of Teruel with the objective to disclose this product to the general public and, in particular, the child. A work designed by the artist Juan Iranzo.
"Each associated cheese dairy has its products and its own elaborations", explains Vicente San Francisco, president of the association, "but we all have this product in common, with the Queso de Teruel brand, and we thought it would be interesting to promote it and make it known among the public".
More than 2,000 volumes of The Book of Cheese of Teruel have been published, many of which will be distributed by the Association of Producers of Milk and Cheese of Teruel by schools and institutes throughout the province, while others may be found in their own cheese shops like ours in Albarracín. In addition anyone who is interested in the book can download it for free in Spanish.
The book includes some files that include the history, the trajectory and the products marketed by Queso Artesano de Teruel under the brands "Cheeses Sierra de Albarracín" and "La Cava de Mía".
This is an informative book mainly, with a very recognizable aesthetic and in which the graphic element predominates over the textual one. It develops from the general to the particular, and in its pages it gathers in first place some brushstrokes on the culture of the cheese; its history, the hypothesis about its birth, which is usually dated in the Neolithic about 12,000 years ago, the Asian legend of Kenama or the reference to the first historical document about this product, the frieze of a Sumerian temple in Mesopotamia about 5,000 years ago , which graphically describes the process of cheese production.
It includes activities for children at the end of the book, with which parents can share with them what they have learned about cheese.
"What it was about was to inculcate the culture of eating cheese from knowledge. Cheese is eaten every day, but I think it's good to explain what you're eating, why and in what way, "explained author Juan Iranzo at Diario de Teruel, also responsible for the logos and labels of Teruel Cheese, based in an original sculpture he throws in wool and wood that represents a sheep or a goat depending on what type of cheese it looks like. "I also dedicate a few pages to talk about the Cheese of Teruel as a tool against depopulation," adds Juan Iranzo. "These producers are in small towns in Teruel, and they create jobs, direct and indirect, and therefore wealth."