Picón Bejes-Tresviso is a blue cheese

Blue cheese

Blue cheese is a general classification of cow's milk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk cheeses that have had cultures of the mold Penicillium added so that the final product is spotted or veined throughout with blue, blue-gray or blue-green mold, and carries a distinct smell, either from that or...

 from Cantabria

Cantabria

Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...

, in the north of Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. It has been protected under Denominación de Origen

Denominación de Origen

Denominación de Origen is part of a regulatory classification system primarily for Spanish wines but also for other foodstuffs like honey, meats and condiments. In wines it parallels the hierarchical system of France and Italy although Rioja and Sherry preceded the full system...

 (DO) legislation since 1994, prior to which it was traditionally known as Picón de Tresviso and Queso Picón de Bejes. The designated area centers in the Liébana

Liébana

Liébana is a comarca of Cantabria .It covers 570 square kilometers and is located in the southwest of Cantabria, bordering Asturias, León and Palencia...

 valley and production is restricted to the municipalities of Potes, Pesaguero, Cabezón de Liébana

Cabezón de Liébana

Cabezón de Liébana is a municipality located in the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain. According to the 2007 census, the city has a population of 708 inhabitants.-Towns:*Aniezo*Buyezo*Cabezón de Liébana *Cahecho*Cambarco*Frama*Lamedo...

, Camaleño

Camaleño

Camaleño is a municipality located in the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain. According to the 2007 census, the city has a population of 1.096 inhabitants.-External links:* - Cantabria 102 Municipios...

, Cillorigo de Liébana

Cillorigo de Liébana

Cillorigo de Liébana is a municipality located in the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain. According to the 2007 census, the city has a population of 1.179 inhabitants. Its capital is Tama.-External links:* - Cantabria 102 Municipios...

, Peñarrubia, Tresviso and Vega de Liébana

Vega de Liébana

Vega de Liébana is a municipality in the province and autonomous community of Cantabria, northern Spain.-External links:*...

.

Production

A mixture of cow's, sheep's and goat

Goat

The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...

's milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

 is used in its production. The curd

Curd

Curds are a dairy product obtained by curdling milk with rennet or an edible acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar, and then draining off the liquid portion. The increased acidity causes the milk proteins to tangle into solid masses, or curds. The remaining liquid, which contains only...

 is created using a precise dose of rennet

Rennet

Rennet is a complex of enzymes produced in any mammalian stomach to digest the mother's milk, and is often used in the production of cheese. Rennet contains many enzymes, including a proteolytic enzyme that coagulates the milk, causing it to separate into solids and liquid...

 and cut into hazelnut

Hazelnut

A hazelnut is the nut of the hazel and is also known as a cob nut or filbert nut according to species. A cob is roughly spherical to oval, about 15–25 mm long and 10–15 mm in diameter, with an outer fibrous husk surrounding a smooth shell. A filbert is more elongated, being about twice...

-sized pieces, which are then drained and allowed to dry. The curd pieces are placed loosely in the mould, allowing sufficient air to circulate and initiate the growth of penicillium

Penicillium

Penicillium is a genus of ascomycetous fungi of major importance in the natural environment as well as food and drug production. Members of the genus produce penicillin, a molecule that is used as an antibiotic, which kills or stops the growth of certain kinds of bacteria inside the body...

 spores. The cheese is then salted and left for an initial drying and curing period of between 12 and 18 days, at a temperature between 15 and 18°C.

Although much of the process thus far may take place in modern industrial units, DO regulations stipulate that final maturity be achieved by further curing in a natural limestone cave, typical of the geology of the Liébana region, for a minimum of two months. Maturation in this cool, high-humidity environment develops the particular taste and brevibacterium

Brevibacterium

Brevibacterium is a genus of bacteria of the order Actinomycetales. They are Gram-positive soil organisms. It is the sole genus in the family Brevibacteriaceae....

-infested crust typical of many blue cheese

Blue cheese

Blue cheese is a general classification of cow's milk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk cheeses that have had cultures of the mold Penicillium added so that the final product is spotted or veined throughout with blue, blue-gray or blue-green mold, and carries a distinct smell, either from that or...

s. Since brevibacterium is responsible for human foot odour, it gives the cheese a characteristic, highly pungent aroma.

Characteristics

The finished cylindrical

Cylinder (geometry)

A cylinder is one of the most basic curvilinear geometric shapes, the surface formed by the points at a fixed distance from a given line segment, the axis of the cylinder. The solid enclosed by this surface and by two planes perpendicular to the axis is also called a cylinder...

 cheese may be between 7 and 15 cm high and have a diameter of 15 to 20 cm, weighing anything between 700g and 2.8 kg. The rind is thin and grey to yellow-green in colour. The flesh is a smooth, white and compact, with streaks and patches of teal-colored veins and a powerful, slightly spicy flavour. Acidity values in the fat content of the cheese have been shown to increase by a factor of twenty over the uncured curd.

Marketing

Prior to DO regulation, it was often sold wrapped in Sycamore Maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) leaves and is still marketed this way locally, albeit without the DO certification label. It is more widely available wrapped in a gold aluminum foil that permits stamping with an authentication seal and serial number. As result, leaf-bound Picón Bejes-Tresviso cheese is rarely found outside of the Liébana region.