QUESOS DE HUALDO

Hualdo is not just a huge mosaic of land uses, crops and mountains. For almost two decades we have also been dedicated to the breeding and selection of sheep of the La Mancha breed, a livestock complement to agricultural management: our sheep take advantage of some of the products we produce such as winter cereals and straw, corn and its fodder, alfalfa, grass, stubble… and return the organic matter to the olive grove in the form of manure, contributing to the circular economy model of the farm.

We started up our artisan cheese factory project in 2017 from this productive base of almost two thousand sheep, although it has not been possible to obtain all the administrative permits to begin construction of our factory until well into 2019.

We wanted to develop a deeper knowledge of the origin of this unique breed by the hand of one of the best experts and disseminators of cheese in Spain: Jose Luis Martin. As we did with the oil, this return to the origin does not intend to ignore technological progress as a useful tool, so we have relied on a leading engineering firm in the dairy industry. This project will be for José Luis the largest artisan cheese factory he has ever advised and for our engineering office, the smallest one he has designed. The result of this explosive combination is an innovative project, linked to our livestock, obsessed with quality and which aspires to become a reference point not only for Manchego cheese but, why not, for other varieties and elaborations as well.

The bet is risky: to make cheese with raw milk as the best expression of the richness of our heritage. There is very little time left to taste them!