Seara Raw Milk Colonian Cheese

Queijo colonial is a raw cow’s milk cheese from the southern states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná: These lowland areas are usually cultivated with annual crops and have a subtropical climate (hot summers, with more than 30 millimeters of rain).
This cheese is one of the most emblematic of a group of products from southern Brazil known as “colonial”: foods traditionally produced on the farm by farmers of Italian or German origin, usually destined for family consumption.
Forms of queijo colonial are round and weigh between 1 and 3 kilos. The rind is yellowish and the consistency is semi-hard, though buttery in the middle. The flavor is delicate at first, but after aging it develops a spiced finish.
When produced artisanally, on a small scale, the entire cheesemaking process is carried out by women, from tending the animals to producing the cheese to selling it. Milk is used from hardy, pasture-grazed breeds of cow, their diet supplemented by corn, tapioca, sweet potato leaves and forage.
If the cheese is not sold fresh (after 5 to 12 days) it can be preserved in various ways. The most common method is immersion in wine for 2 to 3 days, but the rind can also be rubbed with lard, annatto and pepper. The forms are then hung in a net for up to a year.
Cheeses under 3 months of age are eaten on their own or with polenta and bread, while the more mature cheeses are usually grated and used in cooking.