Cheese with Q brand
The production of artisan cheeses in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees was promoted in the 80s, and is currently a consolidated food craft activity.
The types of cheeses attached to this quality certification are fresh (salty or unsalted) and mature cheese from uncooked pressed pasta (with or without mechanical intervention). In the case of fresh cheeses, the process includes pasteurization of milk, optional inoculation of lactic ferments, coagulation with animal curd, molding and runoff. As for ripened milk, milk is pasteurized, fermentation and coagulation with animal curd occurs, separation of the xerigot and washing of the paste, molding and pressing, salting in brine, runoff and gilding; the last step is ripening (tender, 3 to 6 weeks; semi-doubled, 6 to 12 weeks; fertilizer, more than 12 weeks). In both cases, pasteurized cow's milk, animal curd, dairy ferments, salt and powdered milk can be used (only in fresh cheeses, and with a maximum of 2%).
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Marca Q de Qualitat Alimentària
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Productes de la terra
Cheeses and dairy products
Season calendar
- GEN
- Feb
- Sea
- Apr
- Never
- JUN
- JUL
- AUG
- THIRST
- OCT
- nov
- From
Complementary information
Q-branded cheeses are sold, with the corresponding identification, for whole pieces in cheese shops throughout Catalonia, where they are also sold in cuts.
Attributes and nutritional properties
Cheese has, in a concentrated way, most of the nutrients in milk. Its main components are proteins and fats. Of note is the high amount of calcium, which is important for the correct formation of bones and teeth, which can be up to 10 times higher than milk. It is also a good source of phosphorus, which is part of the DNA, and zinc, which intervenes in the functioning of taste and smell. It provides a large amount of vitamin A, necessary for the proper functioning of the nervous system, and D, which acts in the intestine favoring the absorption of calcium.
