Serpa cheese (Queijo Serpa PDO) is a type of cheese from

Serpa Serpa () is a city and a Concelho (municipality) in the central Portuguese region Alentejo. The population in 2011 was 15,623, in an area of . The Guadiana River flows close to the town of Serpa. History Serpa has its origins in early settle ...

, Alentejo,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. It has a Protected designation of origin (PDO) and is listed on the

Ark of Taste The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distin ...

. Queijo Serpa is a cured, semi-soft cheese made with raw

sheep milk Sheep's milk (or ewes' milk) is the milk of domestic sheep. It is commonly used to make cultured dairy products such as cheese. Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include feta (Greece), ricotta (Italy), and Roquefort (France). Sheep breed ...

and extracts of Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.) as coagulant. According to a traditional manufacturing process, no

Fermentation starter A fermentation starter (called simply starter within the corresponding context, sometimes called a mother) is a preparation to assist the beginning of the fermentation process in preparation of various foods and alcoholic drinks. Food groups wh ...

culture added and pasteurization is not used. Some aspects of the traditional manufacturing process are rooted in religious beliefs such as the

Muslin Muslin () is a cotton fabric of plain weave. It is made in a wide range of weights from delicate sheers to coarse sheeting. It gets its name from the city of Mosul, Iraq, where it was first manufactured. Muslin of uncommonly delicate hands ...

used to filter the curd being folded exactly forty times.

References

Portuguese cheeses Portuguese products with protected designation of origin {{Cheese-stub