The first cheese artisans
It is well known that the inhabitants of this region, many of them pastoralists, were devoted to cheese making. The Celtiberians and the Vacceans of the Douro basin were the first cheese artisans. However, the origin of this product dates back to the Bronze Age as in the prehistoric settlements of this period were found cheese domes, also called “cheese wattles”.
A well-documented story
The first document written in Romance language dates from 980, written by Semero, grocer of the Church of Santos Justo y Pastor in Rozuela (León), the famous Nodicia de Kesos, so-called because of the words that lead the document. It’s is a brief note that collects the annotations related to list of the cheeses used up by the monastery, explaining the reason for each expense.
The cheese as a bargaining chip
For many years, the cheese has been an object of payment according to the documents kept in the Monastery of San Zoilo, Carrión de los Condes (Palencia), in which the payments made by the peasants were collected as rents. In years 1560, 1561 and 1562, cheese wasn’t used as rent payments, they were received in cash and in-kind payments of wheat, barley, wine and giblets.
A quality figure of the queso castellano
In 2013, Regional Federation of Cheese and other Dairy Products Manufacturers proposes the classification and differentiation of the brand “Queso Castellano” to boost the creation of a quality figure at European level (PGI), that firstly supports and secondly allows, the commercialization and marketing of a well-known cheese of quality and value in Europe.