Getting to the roots of a great cheese…

Hello Fellow Traveler!

While back home and preparing for some upcoming holiday meals, I knew that I was overdue for another culinary adventure down to my local International Market. While I found what I was looking for right away, I am always amazed to find those items that I didn’t even know I was looking for! 

Today’s find was a PDO Protected Cheese from Spain that I was not familiar with, so I decided to purchase it, taste it, and of course, do a little research to share with all of my fellow travelers!

Out of the twenty-seven protected cheeses of Spain, I am familiar with many of them, although the majority of United States retailers seem to only want to feature Manchego and Queso de Murcia al Vino…and I am always on the hunt for the perfect Cabrales!

Today’s featured cheese is Urgèlia (also known as Queso de l'Alt Urgell y la Cerdanya) which can trace it’s history back only decades, as it is relatively a “newer” creation that was born from tragedy…let me explain:

"The phylloxera, a true gourmet, finds out the best vineyards and attaches itself to the best wines." Cartoon from Punch, 6 Sep 1890

In the mid-1800’s a group of enthusiastic botanists from Great Britain visited the United States and collected specimens of American grape vines. Returning to Europe, these vines were planted and unknowingly gave birth to the “phylloxera plague” that nearly wiped out wine grapes in Europe.Phylloxera, a small, (almost microscopic) sap sucking insect which feed on the roots and leaves of grapevines, were virtually unheard of in Europe, and because the vines in Europe were not resistant towards them in the way that native North American vines were, it completely ravaged the crops. How big was the problem?...Estimates range from two-thirds, all the way up to nine-tenths of the grapevines crops were destroyed!

So what does this have to do with Urgèlia cheese? Well, some wine growing regions were completely destroyed and these regions needed to find some other type of agricultural item to develop. It was here in the central eastern Catalan Pyrenees region of Spain, that cattle were brought in, primarily for beef production, but it was milk that eventually emerged as the principal product of the farms. Cheese was first produced on a small scale using traditional methods, but modern techniques were gradually introduced to improve the quality.  

Today, the municipalities of Alto Urgel and Cerdaña in the provinces of Lérida and Gerona are the protected PDO regions for this important Catalan cheese still produced in the Pyrenees. Made from pasteurized whole milk of Friesian cows, these wheels weigh about five pounds. It has a light-brown, natural rind that is slightly moist, with a cream-colored paste within. The cheese will have numerous small and uneven eyes, with a soft and creamy consistency, and a sweet and penetrating aroma. 

So fellow traveler, if you find yourself with an “Urgèlia” for a great cheese, try and search this one out.

Until next week…

Trevor