La Serena cheese is one of the great gourmet cheeses of the Extremadura region of Spain, the South Western mountainous part. The cheese is covered by a semihard rind that is yellowish in color. The sides are smooth or might be covered with the pattern of the belt used to mold it. The paste is soft, has a waxy ivory color and can have small, shiny holes.
The milk of the Merino sheep is used to make this exquisite cheese. The breeding of this sheep is quite frequent in order to take full advantage of the three products it offers us: wool, meat and milk. Its short lactation period, together with its low output, gives its milk an extraordinarily nutritious quality,
The fully ripe cheese has a creamy consistency in the center, and is traditionally eaten by slicing off the top and scooping out the inside. This is the cheese that can be served with a spoon. La Serena is known as one of the “tortas” which are quite highly regarded; the more the cheese has softened, the more it is valued, though it should be consumed in a short amount of time.
In order to comply with US FDA regulation for export to the USA the maturation of this cheese has been extended to over 60 days.