Serra da Estrela Cheese: Portugal's Thistle-Set Sheep's Milk Wheel

When ripe, the paste goes buttery and soft enough to eat with a spoon.

Everything about it comes from the thistle and the slow draining of the curd: a gentle, plant-set curd that stays moist, a mild acidity, and a rind that holds a creamy center inside. Aged longer, the same recipe makes a very different, firm and spicy cheese.

Serra da Estrela cheese at a glance

Here is Serra da Estrela cheese at a glance, from Portugal's register of traditional products.

What Serra da Estrela cheese is and who protects the name

Serra da Estrela cheese is a protected designation of origin (PDO) cheese, so the name means a specific milk, breed, coagulant and place. The Portuguese register of traditional products lists raw milk from two local breeds, the Bordaleira Serra da Estrela and the Churra Mondegueira, and a protected zone in the districts of Viseu, Coimbra, Guarda and Castelo Branco. It traces the cheese back to 1287, when King Dom Diniz set up the first cheese market in the region.

The Portuguese cheese guide places it beside Azeitao and Nisa, and the PDO and PGI guide explains what the seal means.

How Serra da Estrela cheese is made

Serra da Estrela cheese starts with raw sheep's milk filtered through muslin and warmed to 28 to 32 degrees C (82 to 90 degrees F). Ground, salted thistle flower goes in, only about 0.2 to 0.3 g per the register, and the curd is cut by hand after 45 to 60 minutes. It is then molded, pressed and ripened in two stages with set temperature and humidity.

Thistle is a plant coagulant, and its enzymes break milk proteins down more than animal rennet does. That is the reason for the soft, even runny paste and for a slight bitterness in some wheels. The curd drains slowly instead of being cooked and pressed hard, which keeps the center moist.

Serra da Estrela cheese by age

Serra da Estrela cheese changes dramatically with age. The standard cheese has a white to yellowish, semi-soft, buttery paste and a delicate, clean, slightly acid flavor. Left to ripen and dry for at least 120 days it becomes velho, with a paste from semi-hard to extra hard, brownish orange in color, and a strong, persistent, lightly salted and spicy flavor, the register says.

Young and ripe is the version most people mean when they say "spoonable," and it can be soft enough to need a cloth or band around the rind. The facts box lists one to six months, which spans both ends.

How to buy Serra da Estrela cheese in the US

Buying Serra da Estrela cheese in the US takes some searching, because the real PDO cheese is a raw-milk cheese and US rules require raw milk cheese to age at least 60 days. A very young, runny wheel is therefore unlikely to be at a US counter; ask a specialty shop which age you are getting.

Look for "Queijo Serra da Estrela DOP" on the label, a small wheel with a thin rind, and a paste that is pale and glossy rather than chalky. Many shops sell the whole small wheel boxed, and that is the best format for the spoon-it-out experience. If a cheese is called "Serra-style" with no DOP, it is not the protected cheese.

How to serve Serra da Estrela cheese

Serve Serra da Estrela cheese at room temperature, after about an hour out of the fridge, because cold keeps the paste stiff. For a ripe wheel, slice off the top like a lid and eat the center with a spoon, on bread, toast or boiled potatoes. For an aged velho, slice thin and treat it like a strong sheep's cheese.

It is a table cheese more than a cooking cheese, since the soft paste is already the point. Warm it gently in the oven in its rind with the top removed, and dip bread or roasted vegetables in it.

What to serve with Serra da Estrela cheese

Serra da Estrela cheese goes best with sweet fortified wines and quince. Port, Touriga Nacional and Madeira are the wine matches in our pairing data; for beer try a saison, an amber ale or a brown ale. Quince paste (marmelada), fig and grape bring the fruit, and crusty bread, honey and walnuts finish the plate. The pairing guide shows more, and the wine and cheese basics cover why sweetness softens a tangy cheese.

Substitutes for Serra da Estrela cheese

Substitutes for Serra da Estrela cheese are soft, ripe cheeses that you can scoop or slice: Brie, Camembert and Reblochon. Brie and Camembert give a creamy center in a bloomy rind, though both are made with cow's milk and lack the tang of sheep and thistle. Reblochon is closer in its washed-rind savor. The substitute finder lists more.

What most Serra da Estrela cheese advice gets wrong

Most Serra da Estrela cheese advice treats it as only the runny version.

It is not always runny

Serra da Estrela is not always runny, because the velho style is hard and spicy. Ask for the age before you plan the serving.

Thistle is not rennet

Thistle is not the same as rennet, and it is why some people find this cheese slightly bitter. It also means a vegetarian can often eat it, though the label is the only proof.

Do not chill it hard

Chilling a ripe wheel until firm makes it hard to scoop and dulls the taste. Rest it at room temperature until the center moves.

Questions about Serra da Estrela cheese

These are the questions about Serra da Estrela cheese that come up most.

What does Serra da Estrela cheese taste like?

Serra da Estrela cheese tastes delicate, clean and slightly acid when standard, and strong, spicy and lightly salty when aged as velho.

How do you eat Serra da Estrela cheese?

You eat Serra da Estrela cheese by cutting off the top and scooping the soft center with a spoon onto bread. Older wheels are sliced instead.

Is Serra da Estrela cheese made with raw milk?

Serra da Estrela cheese is made with raw sheep's milk, according to the register of traditional products.

Does Serra da Estrela cheese contain animal rennet?

Serra da Estrela cheese is set with thistle flower, not animal rennet, per the specification. Check the label on any specific wheel.

How do you store Serra da Estrela cheese?

Store Serra da Estrela cheese in its wrapper or in a lidded container in the fridge, and bring it to room temperature before eating. The storing cheese guide covers soft cheeses.

Your first Serra da Estrela cheese

For your first Serra da Estrela cheese, buy a small ripe wheel from a shop that can tell you its age, let it warm up for an hour, cut off the top and eat it with bread, quince and a small glass of Port.