Cerrón Cheeses; passion, respect for craftsmanship and nature.
Those who know Bodegas Enrique Mendoza, know very well that we love being around people who put all their passion into everyhing they do.
In our quest to offer quality artisan products for our visits and tastings, we have had the immense luck of crossing our paths with the Cerdán family from Quesos Cerrón, in Fuente Álamo, Albacete.
The history of Quesos Cerrón, is the story of a family that tries to transmit local traditions to new generations, respect for artisanal and nature.
They have shown us their good work, their history and we could not fit in better with their philosophy. They also know very well about putting passion into things!
It all started in the late 80s, when Juana García and Juan José Cerdán, a young couple, began to make their own fresh goat cheeses in their basement.
It was the grandmother of the family who began to explain the traditional methods of making cheese, leaving the knowledge of a family recipe; that of the fresh goat cheese. The milking began at 5 in the morning, transporting the milk directly to the Cheese Factory and processing the cheese to be sold before noon.
Today, organic farming and livestock methods are followed as a philosophy of life, in which the land must be cared for for generations to come. In addition, low milk yields in cattle denote animal happiness that leads to producing special cheeses.
To obtain representative matured and cured cheeses, they do not standardize the milk, but separate it according to the time of year and the feeding of the cattle to make the different ranges.
Together with them, we have selected 4 totally different and very special artisan cheeses, which you can taste in our visits and tastings:
1. Pure sheep cheese 6 months of maturation:
It is a pressed pasta cheese made with a selection of the most elegant Manchega sheep’s milk, with a good balance between fat and protein. A cheese conceived to reflect the flavors and peculiarities of sheep’s milk that, after 3 months of curing, begin to add sweet and very attractive touches to the palate.
2. Goat cheese with wine:
The local economy of Fuente Álamo, where is located the cheese factory, is based 70% on agriculture, and especially on the vine, framing this area in the D.O.P. Jumilla.
Traditionally, wine and cheese have been melted not only in gastronomy, but also as a method of preserving cheese. The microbicidal properties of wine were used by its ancestors to extend the life of the cheese and allow it to mature, acquiring a greater flavor and melting the aromas of both products.
The wine used to ripen the cheese comes from his own vineyards, using the traditional recipe of his grandmother, who wisely noted the drying times and the times the cheese had to be dipped so that the aromas were imprinted, but without forgetting the prominence of goat’s milk.
3. Organic Manchego cheese, 24 months of curing:
Cerro Tejarejo is the name of a mountain located at 1000 meters in the municipality of Fuente Álamo, where the presence of aromatic herbs such as thyme, rosemary, lavender… confer a characteristic aroma that is impregnated in the forage that La Mancha sheep graze on.
With this cheese, the family intends to continue the tradition of Manchego Cheese, but with 100% ecological milks with respect for the environment and animals. A cheese of very limited production with the maximum possible curing, maintaining the creamy texture with hints of caramel, sweet nuts, rosemary and aromatic Mediterranean flavors.
4. Goat roll with pepper and tomato:
The goat roll is a typical product of the region, which arises from the need to make the typical fresh goat cheeses less perishable.
For its production, elegant Murcian-Grenadine goat milks are selected to carry out lactic fermentation with selected own ferments, which lasts at least 3 days.
Being the pepper and tomato typical products of the Mediterranean garden, they are combined with this cheese, in addition to helping in its conservation, they create a delicious bite.
