A Silver Medal for Albarracin Cheese at the World Cheese Awards 2013

Albarracin cheese factory is celebrating, once again, an international award. This time, hard cheese from Albarracín has been awarded Silver medal in the World Cheese Awards 2013.

More than 3.000 cheeses from 34 countries participated in the last edition of World Cheese Awards, in different categories, with different types of milk, judged by 250 experts from all over the world.

The awarded cheese from Albarracin is made with a mould used in different cheese factories all over Teruel region, however, each one has its own recipe. In this case, our cheese is made with raw sheep milk.

It is an honour for us to be rewarded by this prestigious event year after year. We are also proud of being able to offer our clients the best quality in all our products.

Thanks for being there and sharing our happines.

We are looking forward to welcome you in Albarracin and in our website.

How to wrap, taste and store Cheese from Albarracin

If you are a cheese lover it's your lucky day. Today we want to give you some tips to present, consume and preserve Cheese from Albarracín to get the best out of it.

To present cheese from Albarracin, keep its cylindrical shape (it is more important than cutting thin slices) because it will allow us to cut it into wedges, which are the easiest way to eat cheese.

Once we’ve cut it, it's time to taste our cheese from Albarracin (this is the best part). Alberto Asensio, Albarracin cheese factory's manager, recommends tasting it at room temperature. Consequently, our cheese will need more time out of the fridge in winter than in summer (some minutes will be enough in summer, however, we’ll need at least 30 minutes in winter).

Last but not least: preservation. It’s recommended to keep our cheese always in the fridge (no matter when). Some people doesn’t like it because it gets dry, but don’t worry, we give you a tip to avoid this annoying consequence:  Cover your wedge of cheese with a wet dish towel. It will protect your cheese with a humid film and it will last more, however, it’s better to eat a cut cheese in a few weeks.

Check our website, find the Cheese from Albarracin you like most and start practising our tips.

Baked Cheese Crisp Recipe

This recipe will help you get a delicious, quick and easy presentation for a party or special meal, and just they have one ingredient: cheese!

Ingredients:
-7 ounces Sierra de Albarracin cheese (red label).

- 2 ounces flour.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Pile 1 to 4 Tablespoons of cheese on a baking sheet covered with flour. Flatten the tops so they are in more or less an even pile. Watch carefully for cheese to bubble and start to turn brown.

Bake 5 to 6 minutes until they are a light golden brown. It happens fast, so watch carefully.

Serving Suggestions: Fill with fruit, dip, salad. Spread flat ones with sugar-free jam (I'm not kidding), or any spread you want, or eat plain.

We encourage you to visit our website and see the entire world that surrounds the production of our cheese. Then you will understand why we are so proud of what we do and also of how we do it.

Sierra de Albarracín Cheese

ENJOY! :D

Photo: www.flickr.com

Recipe: lowcarbdiets.about.com

Spanish tapas - easy recipes with Sierra de Albarracín Cheese

Sierra de Albarracín Cheese

1. Don Mnauel Cheese Tapa

Ingredients:

• Sierra de Albarracin cheese Don Manuel
• slice of bread
• scallion
• tomatoes
• olive oil
• fresh basil (minced)

Preparation:

Saute the scallion with a little oil. Mix together the chopped tomatoes, scallion, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Chop basil and add oil.

To serve, toast slices of bread. Spoon a little tomato topping on to each piece of toast. Tear 5-6 slices of Cheese Don Manuel and put one piece on each slice of bread and spread with the basil oil.

2. Blue Label Cheese Tapa

Ingredients:

• Sierra de Albarracin Cheese Blue Label
• bread
• anchovy
• shallot
• tomato
• oregano

Preparation:

Mix together the anchovy, shallot, choped tomato, and put on each slide of bread, add oregano and cover with slide of cheese.

Bake tapas at 250° for 7 to 8 minutes or until cheese melts.

Enjoy!

...

If you want to buy the best Spanish Cheese, you are invited to visit our Online Shop. There you will find a wide selection of hard cheese and delicacies from our facilities in Albarracín.

Madrid Gourmet Fair 2013. A real experience for all the senses.

Not long ago, the most important gastronomy fair took place in Madrid; the “Salón Gourmet 2013”(Spanish).

As you can imagine, we had to be there and so we did, to show our cheese to a very exquisite audience, among many other culinary delights, high quality ingredients and products and also the most select palates. 

We went there together with a varied group of delicatessen producers from our region, Teruel and also with a little representation of our provincial government. We all had the purpose to offer the best products from our land, Teruel, to people who know much about quality products and flavours. 

It was a fair that lasted 4 days (8th – 11th April) but it was never too tiring or long since it was full of new things to discover, to try and experience. 

Among all the activities we found the “gourmet senses workshop”, a space in which people could play with their senses around gastronomy. 

“Different tunnels, workshops and corners – for wine, bread, beer, coffee, olive oil, cheese, vegetables, fruit, etc. –come near the Senses Square, space conceived as an agora where all the activities take place” Fair´s website

Furthermore, there was a special corner specialized on our favourite subject: cheese, the Gourmetquesos 2013.

There people could learn thanks to the different workshops offered and related to cheese tasting. These were oriented for both, professionals and fans of this highly valued product.

We list below the different activities offered:

• Tasting and sensory analysis workshops.
• Cheese slicing art and the different utensils used.
• Cheese boards preparation.
• Tasting for kids.

At the cave of Taste, a pedagogical place where many different activities about cheese occurred, people could find different speeches about the typology, production, service and harmonies between cheese and many different beverages.

   

In short, attending to this Gourmet Fair was a gift for the senses, especially taste. It was a huge pleasure to find out that there was a special interest on the world of cheese. It was a great surprise and a new way to keep on learning with the purpose to develop better and better.

If we couldn´t find each other at the fair, you know that our website and the online store will always be opened for you. In the case you decide to go by the beautiful village Albarracín, Teruel, you´ll be able to find us there, surrounded by both, architectural and natural beauty.

See you soon!  

International Livestock Fair FIGAN. Together with PIENSOS SOL

This last March (19th – 22nd) the important livestock international fair at the FIMA location took place in Zaragoza.

The FIGAN (FIma GANadera, ganadería means livestock) collected for the 11th time the newest technological innovations in the livestock-farming sector. The farmers could find the most modern solutions, technical and commercial, to empower the development of their daily activities.

Based on past successful experiences and also because of the ideal logistic emplacement of Zaragoza, there were many farmers gathered there to learn and share knowledge. Among them we were there, the cheese factory Sierra de Albarracín, together with piensos SOL, the most important company in the region that sells high quality fodder for sheeps.

More tan 60,000 people visited the 836 different companies that took place this year at the fair, spread in more than 820,000ft².

This way, FIGAN consolidates its international fame and gets to renew its role as main fair in the world about livestock.

The reason why a little representation of our company travelled with piensos SOL is simple; this company was the origin of what our cheese factory Sierrade Alabarracín means. The cheese factory project started first with the fodder company.

We´ve always said that we take very much care of our sheeps and their nutrition, which we watch very close since we were, first of all, in charge of piensos SOL, then we grew our own sheeps and at the end we became what we are now, a cheese factory that produces some of the most awarded cheeses in Spain.

We are still part of the fodder company and that´s why we couldn´t say no to accompany its team in such important fair for the livestock-farming sector as it is FIGAN in Zaragoza.

It was a great experience with which we got the chance to learn about the newest innovations in our sector. We paid attention to everything but we can´t say that our facilities are old-fashioned at all.

Best regards to those present at this years fair. To all the people who couldn’t come, we just say that we´ll be waiting for you the next year´s edition.

Until then and as usual, you can find us on our website and also on the online store. Cheese delivered at home!

Have a cheeseful day! ;)

The Origin of Cheese

Not long ago this information was the “trending topic” of the world of cheese; there is finally a certain evidence of the origins of cheese and an accurate date of such moment instead of the, until now, lapses taken which could include centuries or even millenniums.

We don´t know if this was the real origin of cheese, but it´s at least the earliest solid evidence of its existence. It was around 7500 years ago in a region that nowadays is Poland.

“Though there is no definitive test for cheese, we found large amounts of fatty milk residue on the pottery shards compared to cooking or storage pots from the same sites” said Richard Evershed at the University of Bristol.

That seems to be enough to prove that some of the sieves found in Poland were used to separate fatty curds from the liquid whey, all of this in a crude cheese-making process.

“It’s a very compelling forensic argument that this was connected to cheese” Evershed said. He also said that the discovery of cheese-making was a  major development for Neolithic people and gave an extra survival advantage since they could get more essential calories, minerals and proteins thanks to this way of milk preservation which was also benefitial to have reserves when food was scantly, specially in winter time.

Cheese also helped to make Neolithic diet a little more diverse. “Food was incredibly dull and monotonous” said Paul Kindstedt, a professor of nutrition and food sciences at the University of Vermont who didn´t take part in the study.

These “Neolithic cheeses” were sure non-perishable and quite pungent. “They wouldn´t be the first choice for many people now, but anyway I´d still love trying them” confirmed Kindstedt.

What´s sure is that the evolution of cheese has been constant since it was first made. Right now there are so many kinds of cheese that trying each one would be almost impossible to imagine.

Here in Sierra de Albarracin cheese factory, we use only fresh sheep's milk obtained exclusively from the livestock owned by the dairy itself, following the strictest standards in terms of nutrition and hygiene. The entire process perfectly balances traditional craft methods with the very latest technological developments.

We are waiting for you in our factory but also in our web, where you´ll be always welcome!

Post extracted from the online National Post

Christmas Cheese Balls

This Christmas time we offer you a recipe to prepare a cold-snack dish with cheese that everyone will love.

The cheese ball is traditional for this time of the year and it´s also very easy to make.

Source: Chris Buecheler in Flickr

INGREDIENTS

• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened.
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp cheese, Golden Label (Gold Medall of World Cheese Awards 2010)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion.
• 1 tablespoon diced Green peppers.
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce.
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice.
• Chopped toasted pecans (as much as you want).
• Chopped toasted almonds (ídem).
• Finely chopped dehydrated pineapple or apricot.
• Assorted crackers.

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients but the pecans, almonds and fruits. Shape into three balls. If you see them too little you can just shape them into two or add more quantity of all the ingredients.

Once everything is well mixed, roll each ball in the pecans, almonds or fruits. Make sure the cheese ball is well covered and let it chill.

Whenever you want to serve the balls, we suggest you to remove them from the refrigerator 15 minutes before.

Serve with crackers and enjoy!

On Christmas time we don´t forget about you and would like you to don´t forget about us. Let´s share the same table and have us with you. It´s easy through our online store or web.

MERRY CHEESEMAS!