Villaluenga del Rosario

The municipality

Andalusia

Villaluenga del Rosario

The municipality is known worldwide for its natural treasures for speleology lovers, as it has more than 80 caves and three of the four most important chasms in Andalusia. These mountains are also the ones that allow the herds of native goats and sheep to graze and give rise to unique and extraordinary cheeses contain the aromas of the mountains. The local cuisine benefits from an agricultural and livestock sector that produces quality food with a unique seal of natural territory.

The cheese

Villaluenga Cheese is a cheese that is produced in the Sierra de Villaluenga. It is made mainly with Payoya goat’s milk, although merino sheep’s milk is also used, or a mixture of both, that allow to elaborate different varieties of cheese: fresh, semi-cured, cured, drizzled in lard, rosemary, bran or paprika.

There are 5 main producers of Villaluenga cheese:

• Oliva cheeses
• Payoyo cheese
• Sheep and goat cheese Payoya la Covacha
• Cheese from Villaluenga del Rosario

In its elaboration process, one of the characteristics that differentiate it from other cheeses is the use of Payoya kid rennet. This gives it an intense flavour, in some cases spicy, and a buttery texture on the palate. It is a very fatty cheese with an extraordinary flavour and consistency that gives it a unique touch of the Granada pastures, and with a colour between white and yellowish, depending on the type of milk and season of the year in which it is produced

The Artisan Cheese Fair of Andalusia takes place the first weekend of April of each year in Villaluenga del Rosario.