Serra da Estrela is a raw sheep's milk DOP cheese from the Serra da Estrela mountains in central Portugal, and it's one of the oldest and most distinctive cheeses in Europe. What sets it apart is the coagulant, cardo, a wild thistle used in place of animal rennet, which is why the paste stays so soft and takes on that gentle vegetal edge you don't find anywhere else.
Aged for a minimum of about a month and usually longer, the wheels develop a thin pale natural rind and a paste that runs somewhere between soft and spoonable. At the counter the traditional way to serve it is to cut the top off the wheel like a lid and scoop the interior out with a spoon. On the palate it leads with warm, buttery sheep's milk and cultured cream, then pulls into a savory, lanolin-rich middle with a soft hay and toasted almond note. The finish carries that faint grassy bitterness from the thistle, and it hangs around.
It's a cheese with real presence, rich, mineral, and unmistakably Portuguese, and once you've had one properly ripe wheel it's hard to forget.
Real reviews from The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills Google Business Profile. Curated by Dom and his team since 1967.
Domenico and his team are fantastic. I’m a chef and I often get my supplies from The Cheese Store — unique products, carefully selected, from top Italian and French cheeses to excellent local ones.
Absolutely loved the cheese store! Everyone was super helpful and friendly. Lena helped us — she was very knowledgeable on all the cheeses: where they came from, what the region is like, what they are known for. It was like wine tasting for cheese.
Ordered several cheeses from them and the wrong items were delivered. Contacted the store and they recognized the error and immediately sent the correct order the next day without any fuss. Really appreciate the promptness and professionalism.
Carefully packaged and shipped from our Beverly Hills shop.
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