Retorta

Producer: Finca Pascualete Origin: Extremadura, Spain

Torta-style cheeses are among the most unique cheeses in Spain and perhaps even the world. This is a handcrafted cheese made from the exceptional and pure raw milk from Finca Pascualete’s own flock of Extremadura Merino sheep. The sheep graze on a variety of arboreal species, natural grasses, wild flowers and indigenous herbs that grow naturally in the pastures on their magnificent estate (of 4,000 hectares in southeastern Spain). The name Retorta comes from this cheese’s shape, a rounded disc that resembles a cake (torta in Spanish); it has a thin rind that encases a soft, creamy center. Retorta is made with vegetable rennet using cardoon, a thistle that grows freely throughout the estate. The flavor is delicate and herbal, with a distinctive and persistent tang. It has hints of pistils of the wild thistle used in the curdling process. The consistency is like pudding; dig in with a spoon!

• Finca Pascualete La Retorta and Mini Retorta Sell Sheet

Flavor Profile

Aroma: Musty

Texture: Semi-soft

Flavor: Sweet and buttery