Afuega'l Pitu Cheese. 'Atroncáu blancu - queisu del horro' variety

Afuega'l Pitu Cheese. 'Atroncáu blancu - queisu del horro' variety

Afuega’l pitu ‘Atroncáu blancu - queisu del horro’ cheese is made from pasteurized cow's milk. Its conical shape is due to the mold used in its production, called ‘barreña’. The cheese's consistency varies depending on its degree of maturation, as does its color, which changes from white to yellowish over time. Its rind is natural, and as it matures, after 30 days, the mold ‘geotricum candida’ appears, originating from the milk itself. It has a slightly acidic and mildly salty taste, is creamy, and quite dry.

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Cheeses are produced daily at the cheese factory. The documented piece was made days before our visit

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Asturian

Physical Object

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Queisu de Afuega'l pitu. Variedá Atroncáu blancu 'queisu del horro'

02/09/2025

08/09/2025

Cuesta, P., Fernández-García, E., González De Llano, D., Montilla, A., & Rodríguez, A. (1996). Evolution of the Microbiological and Biochemical Characteristics of Afuega’l Pitu Cheese During Ripening. Journal of Dairy Science, 79(10), 1693–1698. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(96)76534-7 González Álvarez, M. G., Díaz-Méndez, C., & Novo Vázquez, A. (2019). De la agricultura familiar a las denominaciones de origen protegida (DOP): Transformación del sector del queso en asturias. In Agricultura familiar y derecho a la alimentación: Reflexiones desde España, América Latina y el Caribe (pp. 131–142). Ediciones de la Universidad de Oviedo. https://investigacion.usc.es/documentos/600b7d595ef744589ee4ccfd?lang=es Fernández Ramírez, I., & González de la Plata, I. (2006). El queso Afuega’l Pitu. Fenicia / Gráficas Muñiz. López Murias, Raquel. «Las cinco muyeres de Grau que salvaron al “queisu” que llegó a prohibirse en Asturias: el Afuega’l Pitu». ElDiario.es, 15 de febrero de 2025. https://www.eldiario.es/asturias/cinco-muyeres-grau-salvaron-queisu-llego-prohibirse-asturias-afuega-l-pitu_1_12053455.html MAPAMA. (2016). Pliego de condiciones de la denominación de origen protegida (D.O.P.) ”Afuega’l Pitu”. Ministerio de Agricultura y Pesca, Alimentación y Medioambiente (MAPAMA). [Specification of Afuega’l Pitu P.D.O. Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment (MAPAMA)]. Official website of the Protected Designation of Origin "Afuega'l Pitu": https://doafuegalpitu.es/ Piñeiro Lago, L. (2021). Study of the thermo-rheological and biochemical parameters of Afuega’l Pitu PDO cheese [Doctoral dissertation, Universidade de Vigo]. http://hdl.handle.net/11093/2269 Turismo Asturias. (2020, January 13). DOP Queso Afuega’l Pitu [Video recording]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhtNe344HzM

cm x 5–12cm x 8–14cm

current,43.3169333969445,-6.13166887325786;

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Cow's milk, rennet, salt

Cultural

Milk pasteurizer, coagulation vat, ladle, cheese draining mold, curating chamber.

Ambás, Grau/Grado, Asturias, Spain

The milk comes from pasture-based farms located in villages near the cheese factory.

The milk delivered to the cheese factory is stored in an outdoor tank at temperatures below 4 degrees Celsius. The following morning, it is pasteurized using a pasteurizer, subjecting it to 72 degrees Celsius for 5 seconds, which eliminates bacteria and microorganisms. Subsequently, the pasteurizer pours the milk into curdling vats, where it is maintained at an average temperature of 27-28 degrees Celsius, ideal for producing this type of cheese. Once in the vats, the milk is left for 3 to 4 hours to allow its pH to drop to a level of 4.5-5. Afterward, rennet is added. Originally, the rennet was of animal origin, though nowadays it is produced in laboratories. The amount used is 45 milliliters of rennet per 1,000 liters of milk, representing a very small quantity. Traditionally, in the production of afuega’l pitu cheese, two processes can be followed, historically documented and related to the curdling process. It is possible to curdle without rennet by utilizing temperature differences and pH reduction. However, the issue with this curd, known in Asturian as leche presa, is that it has much less consistency. If poured into a mold with holes (barreña), the curd escapes through the openings. For this reason, a piece of cloth (trapu) is used to strain the whey when pouring the curd. If rennet is used, the curd gains greater consistency and can be directly placed into the barreñas to finish draining the whey. Rennet (cuayo in Asturian) is a digestive enzyme that enables milk coagulation, traditionally obtained from the stomach of ruminants. However, in the past, this enzyme was also extracted from the intestines of pigs, which were slaughtered at home for domestic consumption during the traditional pig-slaughtering (matanzas). The curd of Afuega’l Pitu cheese is of an acid-lactic or mixed type, as the milk coagulates due to the pH reduction caused by acidity, with rennet aiding in the process. Once the milk is placed in the curdling vat, it is left to rest for 24 hours

It is a food product and a traditional way to preserve domestic milk production

Retail sale

In batches of between 150-200 cheeses.

The 'Atroncáu cheese-queisu del horro' is one of the traditional varieties of Afuega’l Pitu cheese, produced in the region where the cheese factory is located. It is made following traditional procedures. In this case, it is a cheese very similar to the traditional cheeses that were stored in elevated granaries.

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