Manchego Rind

[bansidhe]

I was reading about Manchego on Wiki.  It says the rind is inedible.  If it's not waxed, why is it inedible?

[rsterne]

Probably because it is hard as a rock.... 

Any "genuine" Manchego I have purchased has a rind that is beyond chewy.... I recently made one that I vacuum bagged, and the rind is not as tough.... However I used Smoked Paprika to get a nice colour and it was a bit overpowering.... If you made it with a smooth mold and waxed it, it would be essentially rindless, so once you peeled off the wax I'm sure it would be as edible as that on a Parmesan or Romano that you treated the same way....

Bob

[bansidhe]

I see, so it's a matter of consistency and not being poisonous.  Good to know!  I use parmesan rinds in soups or sauces to add flavor.  I guess one could do that with Manchego..  Ive never eaten Manchego...  is it like Parmesan?

[rsterne]

Quite different, and it's our favourite cheese.... if you haven't tried it, you are missing out!.... It is not as dry or hard as a Parm, more like a Cheddar for moisture, but with a distinctively nutty flavour.... If aged over a year (Manchego Viejo) it is drier, and can have crystals.... It can be eaten at any age from 2 weeks on.... From Cheese.com.....

Fresco - fresh cheese aged for 2 weeks. The flavour is rich and mild; rarely available outside Spain.

Semi Curado - semi-firm cheese aged around 3 weeks to 3 months.  It is supple and moist. The flavour is fruity, grass, hay with a tangy note.

Curado - semi-firm cheese aged for 3-6 months. The flavour is caramel and nutty.

Viejo - firm cheese aged for 1-2 years. The flavour is sharp and it becomes crumbly in texture. It has a sweet, lingering taste.

Our first one (with a bit too much Lipase) we sampled at 6 wks, 3 mon. & 6 mon. and the remaining quarter is back in the cave until it will be a year old.... It definitely changes as it ages.... We just opened our second one (much better with only 1/16 tsp. Lipase), at 3 months....



We treated the rind with EVOO and Smoked Paprika and then vacuum bagged it.... It is delightful, and we look forward to aging it further....

Bob

[bansidhe]

That is sooo beautiful!   I was thinking of making an ibores,,  which is coved with smoked paprika and Olive oil as your beautiful cheese is.
Maybe I'll try Manchego in stead .... I am so curious now!Hey I notice you use Lipase a bit. Why?  Is it in the recipes or are you adding it yourself for a particular effect?

[rsterne]

Manchego is a sheep cheese.... To emulate that we used 8 litres of whole P/H milk plus 1 litre of 18% cream, which gives 9 litres of 4.9% BF.... and then added 1/16 tsp. of cow (mild) lipase....

Bob

[bansidhe]

Yes but Hispanic is it's cow milk cousin, I believe.  So I was going to try that.  I like the recipe because it says curds should be very small.  That takes a lot of guess work out for me!   

[mikekchar]

Just a quick little history (from memory, so forgive me if I have some errors): The name of "Manchego" sparks some strong feelings so it's worth talking about it.  "Manchega" is the name of a breed of sheep from the region of La Mancha in Spain.  The cheese "Manchego" is a made from Manchega sheep *in* La Mancha.  Some people feel very strongly that we shouldn't use that name for any other cheese.  Part of the problem is that in the late 1930's Spain had a civil war.  The government was overthrown and Francisco Franco emerged as the dictator of Spain.  He ruled from 1939 until 1975.  Like many dictators, he was not a nice person: mass executions, cultural and ethnic cleansing; typical revolutionary dictatorship.

Anyway, one of the targets of Franco were the people of La Mancha.  He decided to set up lots and lots of factories to make inexpensive, bad, cow's milk cheese and call it "Manchego".  Cheap food for the nation and wiping out cultural heritage in one fell swoop (the same kind of thing happened in the USSR as well -- it was a common tactic to wipe out cultural differences in a divided new nation).

After the return of democracy, one of the big things for the people of La Mancha was to restore the good name of Manchego.  Unfortunately, the cheap factory made cow's milk version became popular in Europe and now it was being made in many countries.  This is, in fact, still the case.  You can find tasteless, cow's milk, PVA coated "Manchego" cheese in a lot of places.  In fact, there is a good chance that most people who like Manchego have never actually had it -- they have only had the tasteless cow's milk version (this is true of me, anyway) ;-)

My understanding (which may be flawed) is that there was a movement towards encouraging people to use the term "Hispanico" for this factory made cheese and reserve the name "Manchego" for true Manchega sheep's milk cheese made in La Mancha.  From that point, many producers in Latin America made similar, but interesting "Hispanico" cheeses.  In Spain and some parts of Europe, producers made good artisinal "Hispanico" cheeses.  Finally, Manchego got PDO status and at least in Europe, "Manchego" should only be the traditional sheep's milk version from La Mancha (however, I bought "Manchego" in the UK and it was definitely misleadingly labelled cow's milk cheese).  The US does not recognise PDO designations ans so most "Manchego" sold is not Manchego cheese (because good Machego is relatively expensive).

So for a while, it was kind of safe to use the generic term "Hispanico" for cheeses made in the "Manchego" style, but which is not Manchego.  But, of course, it's become much more complex because many artisinal producers now have a significant history with the name "Hispanico" and would prefer people not use it generically.

But, to make a long story short, "Manchego" is inescapably linked to the cultural and ethnic cleansing of Franco in Spain and for that reason it is highly offensive for many people to use it towards cheese that isn't traditional cheese from La Mancha.  Depending on who you talk to, "Hispanico" is also embroiled in the whole thing and so it's probably best to be as careful as possible when using either term.

[bansidhe]

Very interesting.  Maybe you could submit to Jules for her YouTube channel!  :-)

[rsterne]

Being "Politically Correct" is not one of my strong points, unfortunately.... but I do understand the kerfuffle about the name "Manchego".... In my thread about this cheese I called it a "Manchego-style", but sometimes I forget to include the "disclaimer".... 

Bob