Garrotxa is a traditional

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

goat cheese Goat cheese, or chèvre ( or ; from French language, French ''fromage de chèvre'' 'goat cheese'), is cheese made from goat's milk. Goats were among the first animals to be domesticated for producing food. Goat cheese is made around the world w ...

.Ari Weinzweig. ''Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating'' (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2003), p. 275. Almost extinct by the early 1980s, it has been revived by a young

cheesemakers Cheesemaking (or caseiculture) is the craft of making cheese. The production of cheese, like many other food preservation processes, allows the nutritional and economic value of a food material, in this case milk, to be preserved in concentrat ...

and goat farmers'

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

in the Garrotxa area of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

.Janet Fletcher, ''Cheese & Wine: A Guide to Selecting, Pairing, and Enjoying'' (Chronicle Books, 2007), p. 70. The revival began in 1981,Juliet Harbutt, ''The World Cheese Book'' (Penguin, 2009), p. 156. and the cheese has since become widespread in artisanal production.John W. Fischer, ''Cheese: Identification, Classification, Utilization'' (Cengage: 2010), p. 69. Garrotxa is traditionally made from the milk of

Murciana goat Murciana, also called Murcian, Murcien, Murciene and Royal Murciana is a dual-purpose (for both milk and meat) breed of goat originally bred in the Murcia province along the Mediterranean coast of southeastern Spain. The main milk-producing goat b ...

s and aged in

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s to enhance mold development and the resulting flavor. Garrotxa is described as having a powdery gray or grayish-blue rind, a firm texture, an ivory-colored interior, and an earthy flavor. The cheese is semi-soft.

Cheese wheel Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, m ...

s of Garrotxa are small (typically around three pounds) and mature relatively quickly in the humid

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

. Maturing time varies, but is typically between four and eight weeks. The cheese is pasteurized.Max McCalman & David Gibbons, ''Mastering Cheese: Lessons for Connoisseurship from a Maître Fromager'' (Random House: 2009), p. 151. Garrotxa pairs well with crusty country bread,

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the p ...

s, and

nuts Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Com ...

, such as toasted

hazelnut 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 t ...

s, or

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

s or walnuts. It may be served as tapas or at the end of a meal. Garrotxa is sometimes described as a

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and ...

cheese. The cheese is mildly acidic.Suzanne Maher & Andy Pforzheimer, ''The Barcelona Cookbook: A Celebration of Food, Wine, and Life'' (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2009), p. 106.

Wine pairing Wine and food matching is the process of pairing food dishes with wine to enhance the dining experience. In many cultures, wine has had a long history of being a staple at the dinner table and in some ways both the winemaking and culinary traditi ...

include

white wine White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without skin contact. The wine color, colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured Juice vesicles, ...

s such as a Catalan

Priorat Priorat () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. The central part of the comarca, "Priorat històric," produces the highly regarded wines that are certified under the DOQ Priorat. Wines from elsewhere in the comarca are certified as DO M ...

, or Pinot Gris, Verdejo, or

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...

with "texture to complement the cheese's buttery sweetness," or

fino Fino ("refined" in Spanish) is the driest and palest of the traditional varieties of sherry and Montilla-Moriles fortified wine. They are consumed comparatively young and, unlike the sweeter varieties, should be consumed soon after the bottle ...

or dry

amontillado Amontillado () is a variety of sherry wine characterised by being darker than fino but lighter than oloroso. It is named after the Montilla region of Spain, where the style originated in the 18th century, although the name "Amontillado" is somet ...

sherry, to bring out the cheese's nuttiness. , some Catalans were seeking

designation of origin Designation may refer to: * Designation (law), the process of determining an incumbent's successor * Professional certification * Designation (landmarks), an official classification determined by a government agency or historical society * Designa ...

status for Garrotxa.

In popular culture

Garrotxa was used to create a hole in a sail by firing it from a cannon, by ''

Mythbusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television program, developed by Peter Rees and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast internatio ...

'' (ep. 128), to declare "plausible" the apocryphal tale of Captain Coe and the Battle of the Cheese.

References

{{Spanish cheeses Catalan cuisine Goat's-milk cheeses Garrotxa Spanish cheeses

In popular culture

See also

References