Olavidia

A recent trip to Spain allowed me to discover some locally made cheeses, and one, in particular, stood out. It’s made by Quesos & Besos, a family-run business located at the eastern end of the southern Sierra Morena mountain range in Andalusia.

Milk Type: Goat’s milk

Style: Soft ripened goat's milk cheese.

Description: The Olavidia is a small square of downy white goat cheese. The interior can be semi-firm and a little chalky to very soft, depending on the ripeness of the cheese. If you were to cut the square in half, you would see a very fine line of ash running through the center of each square. The cheese is packed in a small wooden box so that the bloom on the outside of the cheese is fluffy and white. A small amount of grey colour can be evident on the surface of the cheese caused by the ash. 

Quesos y Besos means Cheeses and Kisses. It rhymes much better in Spanish, but I think it’s an adorable name for a small producer. They have done very well with this particular cheese. In 2021 Olavidia won World's Best Cheese at the World Cheese Awards. Best in Show against four thousand other entries is pretty impressive for a small family dairy that was only established in 2017. 

The family takes their herd of Malaga goats into the mountains daily, and they say that the goats' diet of broom, thyme, wild hay, acorns, and olive leaves makes their milk incredibly delicious. Just as the importance of the quality of your grapes is to wine, so too is the quality of your milk to cheese. Happy goats out grazing in the mountains give tasty milk, and that goes a long way to making delicious cheese.

Tasting Notes: I bought this cheese at the suggestion of the owner of a small cheese shop in Bilbao. She told me about the prestigious accolades it had received, so I snapped it up, knowing I would probably never get the chance to try it outside of Spain. Although I would have loved to have tried it then and there, I wanted to share it with my cheesemonger family back in Vancouver. So, I waited almost two weeks until I returned home before trying it. I was a bit concerned that the cheese looked quite soft by this time, but as soon as I was back at work, I divided it in half, along with a blue sheep’s milk cheese I had bought and laid them both on a plate.  To be honest, softened goat cheeses are not my favourite style. I find they can be barnyard-y compared to drier types. I needn’t have worried with the Olavidia. The taste was mild and grassy, the texture was silky, and we all agreed that it was just an all-around lovely cheese. 

By the time we ate it, which I’m sure was probably well past when the cheese maker intended, the cheese was very oozy, and some part of the paste ran right out of the crust. The line of ash was more like a slightly grey puddle in the center of the cheese, but the odd look couldn’t dissuade us from enjoying it thoroughly. If you travel to Spain and find it, and I recommend you take the time to search it out, you will find a firmer, less runny version.

Pairing: When I tried this cheese, I didn’t pair it with anything. I always try cheese as is the first encounter. However, I think my suggestion of an excellent selection of Spanish chorizo, some Marcona almonds, and a glass of Sherry wouldn’t steer you wrong.