Casín cheese ( es, queso Casin)is a Spanish cheese made in the

Principality of Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

. Its name is covered by a protected designation of origin (PDO). It is made from full-fat, unpasteurized cows' milk from specific breeds, namely Asturian Mountain (''Asturiana de la Montaña'', a.k.a. Casina), Asturian Valley ''(Asturiana de la Valles''), Friesian and any crosses between these breeds. Specifically the geographic area of manufacture is the southern part of Asturias which includes the

Redes Natural Park The Redes Natural Park (Spanish: Parque Natural de Redes) is located in the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. Its total area is , split between two municipalities: Caso () and Sobrescobio (). It was declared a natural park in 1996. ...

(''Parque Natural de Rede''s) and associated land, this is within the municipalities of Caso,

Sobrescobio Sobrescobio (; ast, Sobrescubiu) is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Piloña, on the east by Caso, on the south by Aller, and on the west by Laviana. It is situate ...

and

Piloña Piloña () is a municipality in the province and autonomous community of Asturias, northwestern Spain. Its capital is the town of Infiesto. Piloña is bounded to the north by Villaviciosa and Colunga, to the east by Parres, to the west by Nav ...

.
Professional Cheesemakers Organisation - in Spanish The cheese is classified as hard and semi-hard, and can be semi-cured or cured. It takes its name from one of the breeds of cattle whose milk is used, in turn named after the town of Caso. The shape of the cheese is a thick disc-shape, sometime more conical, of 10–20 cm diameter and 4–7 cm in height. The weight is between .
Spanish Government Regulatory Board - Translation

Manufacturing process

The milk used must come from suppliers who are registered with the regulating council. The cows must have fed on local, natural foodstuffs. The milk is coagulation, coagulated by using animal products, fermenting products are also used along with

calcium chloride Calcium chloride is an inorganic compound, a salt with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline solid at room temperature, and it is highly soluble in water. It can be created by neutralising hydrochloric acid with calcium hydroxide. Ca ...

. The milk is heated to a temperature of for the coagulation, this takes about 45 minutes. The curd is then cut with

lyres Yoke lutes, commonly called lyres, are a class of string instruments, subfamily of lutes, indicated with the code 321.2 in the Hornbostel–Sachs classification. Description Yoke lutes are defined as instruments with one or more strings, arrange ...

and the temperature is raised by 2 °C and at the same time the curd is stirred for a minimum of 10 minutes, until it has become coarsely granular, the grains being the size of a

hazel nut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus ''Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according ...

. It is then left to rest for about 10 minutes. Next the broken curd is put into sacking bags or plastic containers with fine holes to allow the whey to drain. The cheese is then placed in ventilated rooms at for 3 or more days during which they are turned over daily. The cheese is then moulded into its characteristic shape either manually or mechanically. At this time a little salt is added. It is then stored in ventilated rooms for a period of between 5 days to 2 weeks, each piece being turned over daily. Finally the cheeses are given another pressing to give them an aesthetic appearance and the decoration and the mark of the manufacturer is added on the rind. They are left a further 2 more days in the ventilating room. The final maturation takes place in a room between and a humidity of 80%. A period of 2 months is necessary between the coagulation of the milk and final maturity. The cheese is wrapped before sale to protect the surface of the cheese as it is intended that all the cheese will be eaten. It can be wrapped in paper, cardboard, wood or culinary grade plastic.

Properties

Casín cheese has a strong dairy flavour. It is slightly acid and peppery in well matured cheese, and less so in less matured cheese. The flavour is long-lasting in the mouth.

Texture

Its texture is firm and friable but slightly rubbery and homogeneous. It should have no cavities within the cheese but may have tiny cracks running through the body of the cheese.

Rind

Casín cheese has a smooth, thin rind. It is a yellowy, cream colour, sometimes with whitish patches. It should be clean and dry but slightly greasy. On the surface will be decorations in the form of flowers, plants or geometric figures and the symbol or name of the manufacturer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casin cheese Spanish cheeses Cheeses with designation of origin protected in the European Union Picos de Europa Spanish products with protected designation of origin Asturian cuisine

Manufacturing process

Properties

Texture

Rind

See also

References