La Serena

Rennet: Vegetarian (thistle)

Milk: Raw Sheep's Milk

Cheese: Type 2

Related: Torta Del Casar, Sierra de La Estrella

Origin: Made in Extramadura, Spain

Age: 3-4 Months

Story: The best of the Spanish thistle rennet cheeses. In the wilds on the border of Spain and Portugal, rennet wasn't always available. Fortunately the only natural vegetable rennet in the world grows there in abundance, the cardoon thistle. The thistle leaves a strong imprint on the cheeses: a soft almost liquid texture and a strange bitter/sour note. In the case of La Serena, the texture is definately melt in your mouth and the flavor is salty with slightly citric bitterness, almost like lime leaves.

Pairings: Cava, Saison, Madiera, Gin

1/4 LB 1/3 LB 1/2 LB 2/3 LB 3/4 LB 1 LB 2 LB 3 LB 4 LB 5 LB $20.00 per pound