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Al principio de la temporada se necesita más leche para fabricar la misma cantidad de queso de oveja que avanzada aquélla, debido a que, con el paso del tiempo, la leche se va haciendo más espesa y grasienta. Así en Triano (B), Ernio (G) y Aldatz y Larraun (N) señalan que al principio se necesitan unos seis litros de leche de oveja para elaborar un kilogramo de queso. En la zona del Oiz y en Orozko-Gorbea (B) anotan que al principio hacen falta cinco litros para obtener una pieza de kilo y más tarde, cuatro litros; en Nabarniz (B) con dos litros elaboran una pieza que pesa algo más de una libra.
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It was generally found that the shepherds used to make and continue, to a large extent, making cheese up on the high pasture, in their mountain huts. The methods used to make the cheese have been similar everywhere.
 +
 
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During the transhumance, they made the cheeses in those places where they were based. In many locations, the milk was collected from the mountain where the shepherd was with his flock and taken to the farmstead for other members of his family to make the cheese using similar tools and procedures to those of the shepherd’s hut. The items used there were sometimes more modern.
 +
 
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It has been more common to make cheese out of ewe’s milk, but the custom of making it using goat’s milk was reported, particularly in Álava. Cheese made out of cow’s milk was made at the farmsteads for the household and to be sold locally, when there was surplus production and prior to it becoming the norm to sell the milk to dairy plants.
 +
 
 +
At the start of the season, more milk is needed to make the same amount of ewe’s cheese as later on, as the milk becomes and thicker and fatty with the passing of time. Thus, in Triano (B), Ernio (G) and Aldatz y Larraun (N), they said that around six litres of milk were need to prepare a kilogram of cheese early on the year. In the Oiz area and in Orozko-Gorbea (B), they explained that five litres were needed to make a cheese at the start of the season and four litres later; in Nabarniz (B), two litres were used to make a cheese that weighs just over a pound.
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In Gipuzkoa, during the first 90 days of production, seven litres were need to make a good kilo of cheese, while only four were needed on the other 90 production days<ref>Ignacio GALLASTEGUI. “Quesos de oveja” in ''Munibe'', I (1951) pp. 155-157. According to this paper, in 1951 Gipuzkoa Provincial Council had the Fraisoro Cheese-Making School to teach cheese-making techniques. The author espoused the itinerant teaching of cheese-making skills, which has previously been tried out in Oñati, aimed at the local shepherds and livestock farmers, as he complained about the poor production given the raw ingredient was so good. Also see by the same author: “Industrias derivadas de la leche” in ''Conferencias de la Semana Alavesa Agro-Pecuaria''. Vitoria: 1923, pp. 3-28.</ref>.
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In the 1920s, P. Lizarralde learnt from the shepherds of Oñati (G) that a good cheese had to meet the following conditions: not sound hollow, not sweat and not be opened. A good cheese had a thin rind and a buttery crumb; a bad one would fall to pieces on the knife and would become worm-eaten with time.
 +
 
 +
In the early 20th century, it was said that for an ewe to produce good milk, she had to be fed dark grass; but she would need to eat meadow grass for thick and fatty milk. It was thought, and still is today, that the grazing in a sunny area was better than in the shade. Cheese made out of the milk of sheep that grazed on the upland, such as the Urbia (N), Aralar (N and G) and Gorbea (A and B) cheeses, were highly sought after.
 +
 
 +
In the past, the cheese made up on the high pastureland were kept in caves or even produced there, as was reported in some of our surveys (Gorbea, Ganekogorta-B, Urbia-G and Zuberoa).
 +
 
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On same high pastureland in the Urbia and Urbasa area, it was usual to intensely smoke the cheese and the best way to do so was by burning alder, cherry, birch or similar wood; the important thing was for the wood to be damp as smoke was needed without a flame. That smoking process, which varied in length, turned the cheese first yellow and finally red-black in colour.
 +
 
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== Sheep’s cheese making ==
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On the Atlantic side of the watershed and in the northern part at the top of the Mediterranean side, sheep’s cheese was made on the high pastureland. The cheese was sometimes made at the homestead, when the shepherd’s family lived close to the pastureland and it was easy for the milk to be collected after milking; and when the flock was on the winter pastureland down in the valley. Those flocks are mainly made up of Lacha ewes bred for milk, while most of the sheep on the Mediterranean side of the watershed are Rasa or other breeds, kept for breeding and selling meat.
 +
 
 +
== The cheese market ==
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Fresh cheese was traditionally sold in the local markets closest to where it was produced and it was also delivered to shops, bars and regular customers. The same was true of the cured cheese, even though it was also sold directly from the pastureland or farmsteads and orders were often placed. These customs still remain today even though there is a trend to sell the cheese to order or for the people to travel to the farmstead and even the markets to buy it.
  
En Gipuzkoa en los primeros 90 días de producción, con siete litros de leche se obtenía un kilo de queso bien hecho y bastaban sólo cuatro para obtener también un kilo el resto de los días productores, que eran otros 90<ref>Ignacio GALLASTEGUI. «Quesos de oveja» in ''Munibe'', I (1951) pp. 155-157. Según esta comunicación la Diputación de Gipuzkoa disponía en 1951 de la Escuela de Lechería de Fraisoro para difundir la técnica de elaboración de quesos. El autor propugnaba la enseñanza ambulante de quesería, como la que años antes se había ensayado en Oñati, destinada a los pastores y ganaderos de los contornos, pues lamentaba los defectos en la fabricación contando con una materia prima tan buena. Vide también del mismo autor: «Industrias derivadas de la leche» in ''Conferencias de la Semana Alavesa Agro-Pecuaria''. Vitoria, 1923, pp. 3-28.</ref>.
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== Contemporary transitions ==
  
De los pastores de Oñati (G) recogió el P. Lizarralde en los años veinte que para que un queso fuera bueno debían cumplirse las siguientes condiciones: no sonar a hueco, no resudar y no abrirse. Era bueno el que tenía corteza delgada y miga mantecosa, ''azal meea ta barru ezea, goipetsua; ''malo el que al partir con cuchillo se deshacía, ''mami elkorra, ''y con el tiempo se agusanaba, ''usteldu''<ref>Los datos referentes a esta localidad han sido tomados de José A. de LIZARRALDE. «Establecimientos humanos y zonas pastoriles. Villa de Oñate» in AEF, VII (1927) pp. 95-97.</ref>.
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The introduction of the press to get rid of the whey was an important change in cheese manufacturing and it was found nearly everywhere in the Basque Country by the mid-20th century. Apart from this innovation, the requirement for hygiene measures and the sale of milk to dairy plants led to the disappearance of the wooden tools and their progressive replacement by metallic ones.  
  
En los comienzos del siglo XX se decía que para que una oveja fuera buena productora de leche había que procurarle hierba oscura, ''pranses-belarra; ''pero si lo que se buscaba era que diera leche gorda y grasienta debía comer hierba de prado. Se pensaba, como también hoy día, que era mejor el pasto de zona soleada que el de umbría. Tenían gran consideración los quesos hechos con leche de oveja que pastara en altura<ref>Sobre este punto de la mayor estima de que han gozado los pastos de altura véase también en esta misma obra el capítulo «La subida con el rebaño al monte».</ref> como Urbia (N), Aralar (N y G) y Gorbea (A y B).
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Nowadays, cheese is now only made for the household’s use in many places and the milk produced sold to large dairies. It was also generally reported that cheese used to be salted or put in brine, but now salt is added to the milk right from the start, when making the mixture.  
  
En tiempos pasados los quesos elaborados en las majadas pastoriles se conservaban en cuevas o incluso se fabricaban en ellas tal y como se ha constatado en algunas de nuestras encuestas (Gorbea, Ganekogorta-B, Urbia-G y Zuberoa)<ref>En la sierra alavesa de Elgea-Urkilla existe un lugar con el topónimo Gaztarri, en el que se conserva un orificio tallado en roca viva que en tiempos pasados pudo servir para la elaboración de piezas de queso. Luis del BARRIO. «Noticia de una quesera tallada en roca viva, en el lugar de Gaztarri, en la sierra de ElgeaUrkilla (Araba)» in AEF, XXXIV (1987) pp. 79-82.</ref>.
 
  
En algunas majadas de la zona de Urbia y Urbasa ha habido costumbre de ahumar intensamente el queso y la mejor forma de hacerlo era quemando madera de aliso, cerezo, abedul o similar; lo importante es que la madera sea húmeda ya que se necesita humo sin llama. Mediante este proceso, de duración variada, el queso se amarillea adquiriendo al final un tono rojinegro.
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{{DISPLAYTITLE: XX. CHEESE MAKING. GAZTAGINTZA}} {{#bookTitle:Livestock Farming and Shepherding in the Basque Country | Ganaderia_y_pastoreo_en_vasconia/en}}
<div class="subindice">
 
Apartados:
 
=== [[Elaboracion_de_queso_de_oveja_ardi-gazta|Elaboración de queso de oveja, ardi-gazta]] ===
 
=== [[El_mercado_de_los_quesos|El mercado de los quesos]] ===
 
=== [[Elaboracion_de_queso_de_cabra_ahuntz-gazta|Elaboración de queso de cabra, ahuntz-gazta]] ===
 
=== [[Transiciones_contemporaneas2|Transiciones contemporáneas]] ===
 
=== [[Otros_productos_lacteos|Otros productos lácteos]] ===
 
=== [[Apendice_1__La_jornada_del_pastor_de_Ataun-Aralar_(G)_durante_la_fabricacion_del_queso|Apéndice 1: La jornada del pastor de Ataun-Aralar (G) durante la fabricación del queso]] ===
 
=== [[Apendice_2__Metodo_tradicional_de_elaboracion_manual_del_queso_de_montaña|Apéndice 2: Método tradicional de elaboración manual del queso de montaña, ''bortü-gazna'', en Zuberoa]] ===
 
</div>
 
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{{DISPLAYTITLE: XX. LA FABRICACIÓN DEL QUESO. GAZTAGINTZA}} {{#bookTitle:Ganadería y Pastoreo en Vasconia|Ganaderia_y_pastoreo_en_vasconia}}
 
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Revisión actual del 13:13 6 feb 2020

Otros idiomas:
Inglés • ‎Español • ‎Euskera • ‎Francés

It was generally found that the shepherds used to make and continue, to a large extent, making cheese up on the high pasture, in their mountain huts. The methods used to make the cheese have been similar everywhere.

During the transhumance, they made the cheeses in those places where they were based. In many locations, the milk was collected from the mountain where the shepherd was with his flock and taken to the farmstead for other members of his family to make the cheese using similar tools and procedures to those of the shepherd’s hut. The items used there were sometimes more modern.

It has been more common to make cheese out of ewe’s milk, but the custom of making it using goat’s milk was reported, particularly in Álava. Cheese made out of cow’s milk was made at the farmsteads for the household and to be sold locally, when there was surplus production and prior to it becoming the norm to sell the milk to dairy plants.

At the start of the season, more milk is needed to make the same amount of ewe’s cheese as later on, as the milk becomes and thicker and fatty with the passing of time. Thus, in Triano (B), Ernio (G) and Aldatz y Larraun (N), they said that around six litres of milk were need to prepare a kilogram of cheese early on the year. In the Oiz area and in Orozko-Gorbea (B), they explained that five litres were needed to make a cheese at the start of the season and four litres later; in Nabarniz (B), two litres were used to make a cheese that weighs just over a pound.

In Gipuzkoa, during the first 90 days of production, seven litres were need to make a good kilo of cheese, while only four were needed on the other 90 production days[1].

In the 1920s, P. Lizarralde learnt from the shepherds of Oñati (G) that a good cheese had to meet the following conditions: not sound hollow, not sweat and not be opened. A good cheese had a thin rind and a buttery crumb; a bad one would fall to pieces on the knife and would become worm-eaten with time.

In the early 20th century, it was said that for an ewe to produce good milk, she had to be fed dark grass; but she would need to eat meadow grass for thick and fatty milk. It was thought, and still is today, that the grazing in a sunny area was better than in the shade. Cheese made out of the milk of sheep that grazed on the upland, such as the Urbia (N), Aralar (N and G) and Gorbea (A and B) cheeses, were highly sought after.

In the past, the cheese made up on the high pastureland were kept in caves or even produced there, as was reported in some of our surveys (Gorbea, Ganekogorta-B, Urbia-G and Zuberoa).

On same high pastureland in the Urbia and Urbasa area, it was usual to intensely smoke the cheese and the best way to do so was by burning alder, cherry, birch or similar wood; the important thing was for the wood to be damp as smoke was needed without a flame. That smoking process, which varied in length, turned the cheese first yellow and finally red-black in colour.

Sheep’s cheese making

On the Atlantic side of the watershed and in the northern part at the top of the Mediterranean side, sheep’s cheese was made on the high pastureland. The cheese was sometimes made at the homestead, when the shepherd’s family lived close to the pastureland and it was easy for the milk to be collected after milking; and when the flock was on the winter pastureland down in the valley. Those flocks are mainly made up of Lacha ewes bred for milk, while most of the sheep on the Mediterranean side of the watershed are Rasa or other breeds, kept for breeding and selling meat.

The cheese market

Fresh cheese was traditionally sold in the local markets closest to where it was produced and it was also delivered to shops, bars and regular customers. The same was true of the cured cheese, even though it was also sold directly from the pastureland or farmsteads and orders were often placed. These customs still remain today even though there is a trend to sell the cheese to order or for the people to travel to the farmstead and even the markets to buy it.

Contemporary transitions

The introduction of the press to get rid of the whey was an important change in cheese manufacturing and it was found nearly everywhere in the Basque Country by the mid-20th century. Apart from this innovation, the requirement for hygiene measures and the sale of milk to dairy plants led to the disappearance of the wooden tools and their progressive replacement by metallic ones.

Nowadays, cheese is now only made for the household’s use in many places and the milk produced sold to large dairies. It was also generally reported that cheese used to be salted or put in brine, but now salt is added to the milk right from the start, when making the mixture.


  1. Ignacio GALLASTEGUI. “Quesos de oveja” in Munibe, I (1951) pp. 155-157. According to this paper, in 1951 Gipuzkoa Provincial Council had the Fraisoro Cheese-Making School to teach cheese-making techniques. The author espoused the itinerant teaching of cheese-making skills, which has previously been tried out in Oñati, aimed at the local shepherds and livestock farmers, as he complained about the poor production given the raw ingredient was so good. Also see by the same author: “Industrias derivadas de la leche” in Conferencias de la Semana Alavesa Agro-Pecuaria. Vitoria: 1923, pp. 3-28.