ORO NOBLE

Production

Torta de la Serena is the result of a production process where milk from Merino sheep is transformed into this delicious delicacy in a completely natural manner.

Raw Material

Our Merino sheep, together with the animal rennet, create a product of unsurpassable quality and excellence.

The production chain is our own: pastures, cattle, vets, milk, laboratories. This way we have knowledge and control of all the production phases of the product.

Milk, vegetable rennet and salt are the only ingredients used in Torta de La Serena.

• Milking
  The breeding females are milked in unbeatable hygiene conditions.  The milk from 15 sheep is needed to produce one kilo of cheese. It is collected every day and taken to the production area, where it is analysed, rejecting any milk that does not comply with our company’s demanding quality requirements.
  
  
• Rennet
  This is the most important phase in the cheese making process. Totally natural rennet, known as yerbacuajo; is added to the milk. This rennet is based on the maceration of the pistils of the Cynara Cardunculus flower, better known as the Cardo Silvestre. This procedure is currently only used in our region, but it has a long tradition in the Mediterranean area.

Ripening for 60 days

In this phase, the curd is subjected to certain temperature and humidity conditions until it reaches an optimum degree of creaminess and flavour.

The creaminess depends on the level of ripening; the only cheeses that can be classified as Torta are those that are soft, fluid and spreadable with an intense, slightly bitter flavour that is persistent on the palate. It has a fine appearance and the rind is yellow and oily.

The special ripening conditions, the daily care and control by our expert artisans, high-technology installations, and above all our quality requirements, make it possible for our cheese to be a complete and natural food that is exquisite to the palate.

Designation of Origin

This pure sheep cheese is made from raw milk obtained from Merino sheep in the area established by the Regulations of the Designation of Origin and only from registered flocks within the demarcated area of the Designation of Origin. The cheese is made with rennet of the cardoon or Cynara Cardunculus as established by tradition.

Europe is striving to preserve part of the tradition related to traditional cheeses. It currently considers them as an element of culture that must be protected for the future and from the trivialization that is often a result of current mass food production.

In 1992, the European Union, aware of this food heritage, promoted a regulation (2081/92) establishing the foundations for the recognition of traditional cheeses in the EU and enabling their protection from market competition, by granting a Protected Designation of Origin.

La Serena cheese is subject to this Protected Designation of Origin.

Fire branded

The Regulatory Council and the Regulations for the Designation of Origin Queso de La Serena were approved by the Order of April 29, 1992 of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce of the Junta de Extremadura (Regional Government). One year later, the Denominación de Origen (Designation of Origin - D.O.) Queso de La Serenawas ratified by the Ministry of Agriculture Fishing and Food and then recognised as Protected Designation of Origin by the European Community.

The Regulatory Council is the organism in charge of the application and compliance of the regulations established in the Designation of Origin by all the registered cattle farmers and cheese-makers.

The Designation of Origin Queso de La Serena and its Regulatory Council are currently under the protection and administrative control of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce of the Junta de Extremadura.

The Regulatory Council controls the entire manufacturing and maturing process, and only grants the best cheeses the numbered back label guaranteeing Designation of Origin.

Fire branding is a method for authentication. Our cheeses are fire branded to guarantee their origin and quality, which is thus endorsed by the Designation of Origin Queso de La Serena.