Without a doubt, Portugal is one of the world’s most underrated destinations for cheese tourism. And their artisanal cheeses don’t get much better than Azeitão.
Where does Azeitão come from?
Azeitão is a soft washed rind cheese that is made by select farmhouse dairies in the Arrábida Mountains of southern Portugal. Local cheesemakers coagulate their raw sheep’s milk using a vegetable rennet that is derived from the stamens of the cardoon thistle flower.
While the use of this rennet is traditional in some Mediterranean regions, it is actually very challenging to master. Indeed, consistency between batches is hard to maintain and, because of this, most commercial cheesemakers prefer to use animal rennet.
What does Azeitão taste like?
Azeitão’s texture is smooth and velvety when ripe, becoming harder and drier as the cheese ages. Its rind is a rust-brown colour, and is occasionally dotted with patches of white mould. The interior paste is ivory-white and oozes at room temperature.
Finally, the cheese’s aroma can be fairly pungent and sheepy. Because of the cardoon thistle rennet, Azeitão tends to develop a slightly sour taste with a touch of bitterness. Overall, this balances well the sweetness of the sheep’s milk and the herbaceous and vegetal notes in the cheese.
How to serve Azeitão
Because of its robust flavour and aroma, this wondrous Portuguese cheese is best paired with more moderate flavours. Sweet white wines from the same region or medium-bodied red wines with low tannin levels will work wonders.
Thank you for reading
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Hi. Thank you for the info re Azeitao cheese. My wife and i were recently in Portugal, tasted and loved the cheese. However, search as I might, I have not been able to find it in the United States nor anywhere online for purchase. Do you know if there is a way or place I can buy it outside of Portugal? Thank you.
Hi Neil, thank you for reading our post and leaving a comment. Unfortunately, Azeitão is not currently available outside of Europe. The reason for this is because it is made with raw milk and aged for less than 40 days. As a result, it does not meet the FDA requirements for unpasteurised dairy products in the USA.
As you say, a regional white wine works wonders. We could think of an assemblage that provides freshness, fruit and aromas. Yes, a recent vintage of Monte Velho, which I once tried
https://www.todoelvino.com/2014/09/monte-velho-branco-2013-vr-alentejano.html?m=0