🧀 Queso Casín

Queso Casín is a Spanish cheese with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), registered in the EU in 2011. According to the single document, it is a full-fat, hard or semi-hard mature cheese made from whole unpasteurised cow's milk by enzymatic coagulation and kneading of the resulting curd. The milk comes from healthy cows of the Asturiana de la Montaña (Casina), Asturiana de los Valles and Frisona breeds and their crosses.

Making. The milk is curdled with calf rennet at 30–35 °C for about 45 minutes, the curd is cut and drained in cloths or drainers, then aired for at least three days at 14–20 °C and turned daily. The curds (gorollos) are kneaded several times in a kneading machine, with salt added during some cycles: the more kneading, the smoother the cheese and the stronger its flavour. The cheeses are shaped by hand into a discoid cylinder or a cake, and the top face is stamped with the producer's seal (marcu).

Maturing. At least 60 days from the day of making, in a chamber at 6–12 °C and 75–85 % humidity.

Look and taste. An irregular discoid cylinder, up to 20 cm across and up to 7 cm high, weighing 150 g to 1 kg. The rind is smooth, very fine, almost non-existent, dark creamy-yellow with shades of white, with the producer's stamp in bas-relief. The paste is firm, friable, yellowish, without eyes (small cracks are possible), crumbly when cut and buttery on the palate. The aroma is strong; the flavour is strong, persistent and tangy, slightly bitter at the back of the mouth. Dry matter is at least 57 %, fat in dry matter at least 45 %, protein in dry matter at least 35 %.

Area. Milk production, cheesemaking, maturing and packaging all take place in the municipalities of Caso, Sobrescobio and Piloña in central eastern Asturias. According to the specification, the damp climate made curds hard to dry, and kneading developed as a way to bind them into a more durable cheese; written mentions of kneaded cheeses in the area go back to the 14th century.

Labelling. The label must state Denominación de Origen Protegida ‘Queso Casín’ with the PDO logo, plus a numbered secondary label that guarantees the producer's identity.

Queso Casín or other Spanish cheeses? Casín is a small hard or semi-hard cheese from unpasteurised cow's milk whose curd is kneaded several times before shaping, which is what sets it apart. Roncal, the Spanish PDO, is made from raw sheep's milk and matures at least four months, while Casín matures at least 60 days. Casín is made only in Caso, Sobrescobio and Piloña in Asturias.

Look for the words “Denominación de Origen Protegida ‘Queso Casín’” and the EU PDO logo (protected designation of origin) on the label. A second, numbered label guarantees the identity of the producer. The cheese is a small, irregular disc or cake with a very fine, dark creamy-yellow rind and the producer's stamp in bas-relief on top. It weighs between 150 g and 1 kg. Expect to find it at a delicatessen or a good supermarket cheese counter.

Queso Casín belongs to the sections Spanish cheeses and Protected cheese names; its raw material is cow's milk.