Torta del Casar PDO

The production area includes municipalities in the districts of Los Llanos de Cáceres, Sierra de Fuentes and Montánchez, in the province of Cáceres (Extremadura).

 Production / Processing method  The sheep are farmed extensively or semi-extensively, being fed in the traditional way on local pastures. Any food supplements required are regulated and supervised by the Regulatory Council which establishes how the sheep should be handled and fed. These are breeds with a low milk yield, so the milk of almost 20 ewes is needed to produce one kilo of cheese.

The milk must be raw, clean and unadulterated and must come from healthy ewes reared on registered farms. It must be free from colostrum, inhibitors, antibiotics, drugs, preservatives, etc. which might negatively affect the ripening and storage of the cheese as well as its health and hygiene conditions.

The fresh milk is kept for a maximum of 48 hours at a temperature below 4ºC (39.2ºF) to prevent the development of microbes. The cheese-making process begins with coagulation of the milk using natural plant rennet at 28-32ºC (82-89ºF) for 50-80 minutes. The rennet is obtained by soaking filaments of the Cynara Cardunculus thistle flower, known locally as Hierbacuajo, in water..

The curds are then cut using a special implement with thin metal wires until they are the size of rice grains.The resulting paste is then transferred to cylindrical molds and pressed at a pressure of 1-2½  kg/cm2 (21.3 lbs/sq in) for three to eight hours to drain out all the whey and give the cheese its final shape. 

The next stage is salting with sodium chloride.  This can be done either by salting the cheese directly or by placing the cheese in brine at a concentration of 16º Baumé for 1-6 hours.

The cheeses are then ripened for a minimum of 60 days at 4-12ºC (39-53ºF) and under relative moisture of 75-90%. They are turned every day to ensure that ripening takes place correctly. During this stage, they obtain their typical dropped shape and some of them have to be wrapped to prevent the paste from leaking out of the soft rind.

The rind may either be left untouched or may be washed and brushed. Cheeses coated with olive oil or other authorized substances are also a traditional product. 

The production area occupies about 400,000 ha (988,400 acres) in the center-south of the province of Cáceres, stretching northwards to the Sierra de San Pedro which forms the border with the province of Badajoz, to the Almonte river in the east and the Tagus in the north.

The geographical area forms a steppe-like plain crossed from north-west to south-east by the Sierra de Fuentes, with sandy, unfertile, thin soils and many rocky outcrops.

The climate is continental, with long, hot summers, short, mild winters and irregular rainfall between 300 and 500 mm (12 and 20”) per year, mostly in spring and autumn.

Consejo Regulador de la DOP Torta del Casar

Avda. de la Constitución, 13
10190 Casar de Cáceres (Cáceres)
Extremadura
Tel: (+34) 927 290 713
Fax: (+34) 927 291 654
info@tortadelcasar.org
http://www.tortadelcasar.org

5%

13

• Hnos. Pajuelo, S.A.T.
• Quesos del Casar, S.L.
• Quesería Ganadera, S.L.
  

Raw milk from ewes of the Merino and Entrefino sheep types, natural plant rennet and salt.

All year round

Animal

Processed

There are two types based on size. They are both the same height but Type A is smaller and weighs less than Type B.