Quiejo De Cabra: Different Goat Cheese from Portugal

I saw this cheese sitting above the counter at Zabar's, tried it and bought it. The lovely wife and I ate it that night, and liked it and so I share it with you. The name of the cheese is "Quiejo De Cabra Puro," which translates as "pure goat cheese." Its from Penamacor, Portugal, which is in central Portugal near the Spanish border. A pretty thorough Google and Yahoo search was pretty unrevealing about the cheese, although Zabar's extensive cheese list notes that the cheese is a raw goat cheese, and one page in Portugese I found states that the cheese is aged (which, given that its sold legally in the US, is a given!). No other retailers popped up.

The cheese is very different tasting from other goat cheese I have eaten. It is mildly crumbly, but cuts easily. It is not strongly flavored, but has a distinctive, almost yogurt like, sour taste. It distinctive flavor was a hit with us. One negative comment is that, unless there's a better way to store it, the cheese needs to eaten quickly, as it dried out in the fridge. Having said that, this is an excellent cheese for dessert.