For The Love Of Port

Does anyone know have experience with a reputable US source for Serra da Estrela cheese? I've seen it on a couple websites, but hate to take a chance on ordering without knowing the supplier is reputable and the cheese is going to be showing well. Thanks!

Tom - can not help re US sources, but one tip: this cheese is a bit seasonal - best time being winter / early spring - so Nov/Dec to about April. Out of season it won't have the right texture (too firm) and the flavour can be a bit acidic - not unappealing, necessarily, but not what Serra da Estrela should be - creamy and gloopy. (Trust me - I have lived here for almost one year, and I've tried it repeatedly over that time!!) So, if you haven't found it yet, don't worry, but you DO want to find a good source by Christmas time! There were strong portuguese communities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island when I lived there, granted a long time ago, but those might be good leads - Fall River, Pawtucket, Block Island, Padan Aram (South Dartmouth, MA), Cape Cod. Good luck! Bom apetito!

Several of us attempted to buy Serra da Estrela a year or two ago and were underwhelmed. It was tasty, but not worth the $60/lb asking price. Roy thought he'd found another source, but nothing ever came of that one.

I'd be very wary of anything you find in the US that is advertised as Serra da Estrela. That's a protected name but stores in the US don't seem to care and may be passing off generic Queijo da Serra as the better kind.

That said, here is one possible source if you're willing to take the risk: Artisanal Cheese They're asking $43.50/lb and expect it to arrive this month.

And I reported in this thread that I found some in NYC, but it wasn't as gooey as I had expected.

Tom,

[I was born in Madison WI!]

It is very difficult to buy good Serra da Estrela cheese in Portugal, which I guess makes it even harder to buy it abroad. Paradoxically the certification process, i.e., the creation of the denomination of origin, practically "killed" this fantastic product.

There are several reasons for this, but 2 stand out. The first is that certification is so complex and costly that many artisanal producers went out of business. The second is that in order to be certified, a producer must produce cheese all year round. This is an absurd rule because Bordaleira sheep only produce good milk from November to March. Beacause of this rule, producers have to use other breeds of sheep or use lower quality milk.

The result is that quality varies enourmously which is precisely what certification aims to avoid.

The best serra da estrela in many cases cannot use the Serra da Estrela denomination of origin.. a nightmare for the consumer.

Please note that Serra da Estrela uses raw milk (non-pasteurized): not sure if this is a problem for exporting to the US.

I apologise for not having anything really helpful to contribute to your query.

Daniel

Eric Menchen wrote:And I reported in this thread that I found some in NYC, but it wasn't as gooey as I had expected.

Eric,

Serra da Estrela is a "semi hard" cheese, and is traditionally served in slices, cut with a knife. A gooey cheese normally means it has not been cured for enough time.

Having said this, many consumers prefer a more liquid cheese (in Portuguese "amanteigado", i.e., buttery) and some producers advertise their cheese as being "amanteigado".

Daniel - help! then what IS the cheese, which is Serra da Estrela DOC (or the ones I bought were) which has a hard rind, sort of flattened round shape, which you slice off the top to reveal the really creamy pale yellow camembert-like stuff inside, that takes a spoon and a lot of patience to extract? Is there another name? I live up in Gaia, so if I knew what exactly to look for, I probably could find it here... hopefully! Thanks.

Yes to me the good Serra is exactly as Cynthia described. When it gets hard it's not as good as when it's nice and gooey and you need a spoon to extract it.

I believe this is a Northern Portugal vs. Southern Portugal debate. The North prefers the soft and ripe Serra and in the South of Portugal they prefer their Serra a bit harder.

Cynthia: queijo serra da estrela is a cheese made from sheep milk: from Bordaleira sheep from the Serra da Estrela region; coagulation agent comes from flowers (Cynara cardunculus, L.). What you describe is serra da estrela cheese.

My comments on certification (denomination of origin) can be summarized as follows: it is debatable whether it has benefited the product and the result is that is very difficult for the consumer to find good quality cheese. The Serra da Estrela DOP stamp does not mean that the cheese is of good quality.

The consistency (how gooey it is) is a matter of personal taste. Serra da Estrela is classed as a semi-hard cheese. How gooey it is will depend mostly on how long it is cured. Traditionally, it is served by the slice. This is not a North / South issue [Roy: I am from Porto even though I currently live in Lisbon!]. Consumers frequently prefer the gooey versions, which need to be served with a spoon (or else cheese will slide off the table). However, my point is that how gooey it is is not an indication of quality. A serra da estrela cheese may be very gooey but still tasteless.

Cynthia:in Porto, go to traditional shops such as Casa Lourenço (Rua do Bonjardim 417, near Bolhão) where the staff is very knowledgeable and will let you try the cheese before you buy. Or go to the Serra da Estrela Cheese fair in Seia in February and taste all you can!

Daniel, huge thank you for the clarification - if cured longer, gets gooey-er then? Will find Casa Lourenço in a day or two - just finishing up a queijo de cabra serrano, quinta dos moinhos novos (pasteurised, firm cheese), and then will go search for something new. So... Roy... your trip for February, will it take in this cheese tasting event, do you think?

Cynthia J wrote:Daniel, huge thank you for the clarification - if cured longer, gets gooey-er then?

it's the other way round. It is cured for a minimum of 30 days (gooey) and up tto 120 days (hard). Here is a detailed explanation of the whole process http://www.gppaa.min-agricultura.pt/val ... aFinal.pdf (the pictures are great!)

Fantastico! Pictures are fabulous, thank you for that link! Shame there's only peanut butter and biscuits for breakfast this morning... obrigadissima, Daniel

Hi Cynthia,

Not sure if the dates match up yet for us to take advantage of the festival. I'd certainly consider this, specifically on that type of tour.

I have bought Serra da Estrela in the past from Artisanalcheese.com and had it shipped to me. Seemed to me to be the real thing, although more on the firmer side of the firm/gooey spectrum. It was quite good, and I found the source to be reliable, although expensive.

Funny thing though, is now that site is blocked on my work computer as innappropiate. I guess they might want to think about renaming their web address!

Jay

@ Daniel - Thank you for the lead on Casa Lourenço - visited today, looking forward to requeijão and marmelade for breakfast tomorrow morning, also have the most appetisingly fragrant chouriço for soup and general nibbling purposes. Obrigada!

Cynthia J wrote:Obrigada!

De nada!
Not sure how long you lived in the UK, but if you are interested in buying home made Christmas Cake (made by a friend in Porto) I can hook you up!

I have a friend that I met years ago in Portugal who had a shop in Obidos who sold cheese, wine and other specialty food items all over the So. of Portugal. He moved to the USA about a year or two ago and I mentioned in one of the Serra threads that I knew someone who could get the REAL deal in terms of high quality Serra.

Well I spoke to him by phone and although he had some lousy luck with distributors, he finally landed his cheese products with the "infamous" iGourmet, that caused some issues for a few of our participants in the past.

But I can assure you that the cheese they have today is REAL high quality Serra. I've not checked pricing ... didn't even check the link/website here as I have zero financial involvement ... but am putting a guy that I trust and his products and connecting them to those that I know will appreciate FINALLY being able to get the high quality queijo that we see in Portugal. Here was his email:

Hi Roy,

I have included a link to a website where your customers can be assured to receive quality Portuguese cheeses. I know that they just received an order of my fresh air freight delivered cheeses in the last 21 days. I am sure your customers will be thrilled. The Serra da Estrela and Amarelo are my cheeses, the others are not. I just went on the website and saw the two cheeses. I must find out what happened to the other two cheeses Serpa and Nisa that they received, hopefully they sold out. Have your customers ask for them as well! I look forward to be selling Igourmet many more items in the near future from Portugal, so that they don't need to buy from competitors.

http://www.igourmet.com/search/search.a ... y=Portugal

I just ordered one and it will allegedly arrive before the weekend, so I'll serve it at a small dinner party we're having on Saturday night. I'll report back here after the weekend!

Excellent, thanks Glenn. Are all of the wheels of Serra about the same weight and what was the cost per pound?