Urbies cheese

Location of the Mieres council in Asturias

The Urbiés cheese is a type of cheese that is made by hand in the autonomous community of the Principality of Asturias, in Spain.

Crafting

Whole cow's milk is used, without adding rennet or ferment. Thus, the milk coagulates by acidification, a process that lasts between four and five days, during which it is skimmed whenever possible. Once coagulated, the mass is introduced into small cloth sacks.

The maturation process lasts between six and nine months, during which the paste must be stirred frequently so that the mold that forms on the surface spreads evenly. Finally, once it is ripe, that mass is poured into the final container.

The different names that this cheese can have come from the bag in which the paste was placed. For example, the so-called bladder cheese is made in animal bladders. In addition, this variety has the particularity that they use the so-called colostrum, which is the cow's milk produced on the second day of childbirth.

Features

It is a soft cheese, unctuous and without fat since it was removed during the coagulation process. It does not have a defined shape, since it adopts that of the container in which it is made. Without rind, it has a soft and creamy paste, with a strong aroma. Its flavor is also very strong and it is the spiciest cheese of all those produced in the Principality.

Due to its pasty consistency, it is offered in clay tubs, called tarreñes.

Competitions

A gastronomic festival dedicated to this cheese is held on the first or second Sunday of June.

Crafting area

Its name comes from the village of Urbiés, in the parish of Santa María, about 12 kilometers from the capital of the council of Mieres. It is also made in Turón, Proaza, Quirós, Lena, Teverga and Somiedo.