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Mahón cheese is a soft to hard white cheese made from cow's milk, named after the natural port of Mahón on the island of Minorca off the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Minorca is known for its cheese production and is home to one of the most respected dairy plants in Europe.〔Jenkins, Steven. 1996. ''Cheese Primer''. New York: Workman Publishing Company, Inc. 186-188.〕 == Production == Nearly a century ago, the gatherer-ripeners were said to have emerged as a class of island society in Minorca. Their work consisted of trading and distributing farm products, seeds, utensils, foods, etc. In exchange they would receive fresh cheeses that the farmers brought to their houses. In order to store them, the ''recogedores'' had underground caves for the careful and novel aging of the cheeses. They controlled everything in production, from the changing winds and temperature level to the correct handling of the product. In so doing, they obtained the original cheese from Mahón; soft, aired or cured, that they would then sell in diverse markets of the islands and the peninsula. Their careful techniques made famous Mahón cheese, and helped to make it a sought after export.〔 Recently, Minorca's live-stocks of cattle have well designed health and genetic selection, with one of the largest milk productions in Spain in more than 600 farms. This milk is totally used for dairy products.〔 In 1985 the cheese from Mahón received the Denominación de Origen. == Characteristics == Mahón has some characteristics specific to it, despite aging. In general the cheese is buttery sharp, slightly salty and lightly aromatic (sweet and nutty aromas) in taste. Mahón's sweet and fruity but at times slightly salty taste is due in part to the sea salt content in the grasses the cows eat. The rind is generally an orange color due to the rind being rubbed with butter, or oil, and paprika. As it reaches maturity (around 10 months) it tends to have small misshapen holes and has some granularity. In general, all aged Mahón has a proliferation of tiny holes. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mahón cheese」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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