Cabrales

Cabrales

What it is

It is made from whatever the herds are giving — cow's milk alone in winter, cow with goat and ewe through the summer — and ripened two to four months in caves in the Picos de Europa that sit near ninety per cent humidity. Wheels used to go in wrapped in damp maple leaves; hygiene rules replaced them with foil, and the green wrapper on the counter is all that is left of the leaves.

In the kitchen

Too salty and too ammoniac to serve in slabs. Mash a small piece into warm cider or cream until it thins into a sauce for beef or for chorizo — that is what it is for at home.

Goes with

Cider vinegar Beef Apple Walnut Honey Chorizo Cream Rye berries

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