Loading ...Strong, delicately spicy, compact, slightly salty, persistent, delightfully acid and, above all, intense, very intense. This is the Idiazabal cheese, one of the distinguishing marks of Basque gastronomy, whose merits are guaranteed by the Regulatory Board of its Denominación de Origen. The Idiazabal, made from latxa and carranza sheep, always matured and sometimes smoked, benefits from several centuries of shepherd tradition in mountains and valleys of Gipuzkoa’s inland.
Is worhwile to rent a car in San Sebastián airport and discover the region.
Idiazabal cheese
Although the making processes have been modernised, some intimate aspects will never change, like the sheep flocks grazing in the foothills of the Aitzgorri Mountain Range. In warm months, sheep invade the highland pastures; and in cold months, they seek shelter in the lowest valleys to continue eating their green sustenance.
The Idiazabal Cheese Interpretation Centre -located in the village bearing the same name- allows us to be immersed into the history, secrets and making of this pleasure, which has always been related to the delights of Basque gastronomy. The mysteries of the craft and traditional making of this cheese, the tools used and the different aspects of the shepherd’s life are revealed in this centre. A good example of this is the reproduction of the typical shack where the cattle-raiser formerly lived and made this cheese, whose legacy remains intact nowadays.
Idiazabal Cheese Interpretation Centre:
Tel.: 943 188 203