One of Asturias' dairy treasures can be found in the municipalities of Ponga and Amieva . A small, rough cheese, whose inimitable texture and color conceal a jewel difficult to counterfeit.
Despite not having a designation of origin, the cheese of the Beyos is at the height of any other that has been officially named. Your denomination does not need labels. The solera of an unparalleled landscape and a whole mountain culture give semantic richness to its name and gastronomic value to the pasta of which it is made.
At every turn, it departs from industrial standards like few other cheeses in Asturias . Its strictly artisanal character and the dedication of a few families in its production make it a rare souvenir and a cult object. This charming work of art rarely exceeds 15 centimeters in diameter, and its weight ranges between a quarter and half a kilo. We dare to slightly subvert the popular saying and declare: "If something good comes in small portions... it's twice as good." And it's good every time.
With its floury texture, it lends itself to all occasions : as an appetizer, in salads, in cooking for cachopos or sauces, and for dessert with a little quince paste.
It has had its own festival in its honor since 1984. Every year since then, on the first Sunday of December, the Beyos Cheese Festival is held . The celebration features local traditions embodied in folklore and a parallel gastronomic offering of garden produce, honey, liqueurs, and chestnut roasts at nearby stalls. Music plays, young men and women dance, and amidst the controlled bustle of this authentic little village, San Juan de Beleño , we approach the sales points.
It stubbornly resists categorization. It's somewhat acidic in this sense, and also in flavor. The morning milking is combined with the afternoon milking, and both coagulate slowly overnight in the warmth of the fire. The process gives it a bitter touch that can already be detected by smell.
A tip: to choose a good one, it's best to opt for those that look fresher . With excessive aging, they barely gain in flavor, lose their characteristic bitterness, and the paste no longer tends to crumble or have that buttery texture.
We taste a bite and the cheese tends to recreate in the mouth. It seems that it is going to embarrass, but it does not, and at the right moment it melts wet and leaves a trail of unmistakable flavor. It is that wake of authenticity that is guessed previously while we go into the councils of Amieva and Ponga. A land of unrepeatable forests, mountains decorated with exuberant nature and whitewater everywhere.
The cheese takes its name from one of the gorges , the Beyos Gorge, which leaves no one indifferent and is truly "beyo" in its own right. A steep mountain dotted with tiny rural hamlets, its architecture and urban planning almost medieval, yet unobtrusive. Small herds of Carreña and Ratina cattle graze alongside sheep and goats. The narrow passage that gradually leads us upward seems to mirror the delicious ascent of the cheese we are about to discover.
Los Beyos Cheese Competition
This cheese has its own annual competition, held in the town of San Juan de Beleño in winter. You can find all the information in the link.
XXXX Beyos Cheese Competition
The XXX Cheese Competition… Read more
Today , more than 40 varieties of cheese are produced. We'll tell you about some of the best-known and most popular ones if you want to discover more about Asturian cheeses:
The best 10 cheeses of Asturias
Of the 42 varieties of cheese that Asturias has, it's difficult to choose just 10. We've compiled a list of the most popular… Read more
Text: © Ramón Molleda for asturias.com
