La Cabezuela Roy

Producer: Royuela Cheese Company Origin: Madrid, Spain

An homage to buttery English cows’ milk cheddars, Roy is named after a Galician cheesemonger who introduced the cheesemaker Juan Luis to the celebrated cheddar producers in Lincolnshire and Devonshire Counties, where he learned the traditional “cheddaring” techniques for making authentic English-style cheddars. Made using milk from the Guadarrama goats, this cheese ages for a minimum of 8 months. This cheese varies widely depending on the time of year it is produced and the characteristics of the pastures where the goats graze. Wheels produced in the spring – a rainy time of year when the goats forage on wet acorns – mold spores proliferate in a spontaneous way and create blue veins in the paste. Primary flavor is yogurt and a blue cheese aftertaste, with a slight bitterness on the finish, which comes from the thyme and holm oak acorns the goats consumed. The milk in the spring is lower in fat and this can cause the paste to be grainy in texture as the cheese evolves.

• La Cabezuela Roy Sell Sheet