Formatge of Santa Catalina

In Formatges Santa Catalina we make artisanal cheeses from raw cow's milk, fed exclusively with our pastures and cereals, collected in our agricultural and livestock farm.

Finca Santa Catalina is one of the Llocs de Favàritx located in the middle of a privileged area of Menorca: The Natural Park of Albufera des Grau, at Km 10 of the road that goes from Maó to Fornells. It is a possession surrounded by forest, basically holm oaks.

You can visit both to buy the cheese and to make a free visit seven days a week.

We invite you to meet us.

Description

Denomination of Origin Mahón-Menorca

› Since 1985, including the word Menorca in 1997.

› Mahón-Menorca cheese is made with cow's milk and matures exclusively on the island.

› Two types of cheese are distinguished according to the previous treatment to which the milk has been subjected

• Mahón Menorca Artesano cheese, made in authorized artisan cheese factories with freshly milked raw milk, without undergoing any conservation treatment.

• Mahón Menorca cheese, made in authorized industrial cheese factories with milk subjected to some conservation treatment, such as refrigeration or pasteurization.

› According to the time of maturation, they are classified as tender, semi-cured or cured.

The Area

Through the area runs the Camí de Cavalls, an ancestral path with a long history behind it. It is, without a doubt, part of the historical and cultural heritage of Menorca.

Walking through it you will discover the natural, historical and cultural wealth of the island of Menorca, one of the last paradises of the Mediterranean.

It has a length of 185km of trails and paths that border the limits of the island, sometimes entering its territory to show the wetlands, cultivation areas, forests and ravines

The route runs between coves of great natural wealth and farmland that make up the mosaic landscape characteristic of Menorcan farms, els llocs, until reaching the Natural Park of S'Albufera des Grau, considered the nucleus of the Biosphere Reserve. The rich biodiversity of the area allows you to enjoy different natural environments, such as the dune vegetation of the beaches of Es Grau, the cove of Sa Torreta or the cove of Morella.

The cheese-making process

Artisan cheese made with raw milk – it is not pasteurized (complex lactic aromas and subtle notes in the field, and even in the barn if you like).

At 5.30 am the milk is taken for the setting process at low temperature, in the stove the plate is engraved with the number of lloc and the week of cheese production, for the traceability of the cheese.

Around 10 a.m. it is passed to the press.

About 17 hours it is taken to the salt mine, where the fire is removed, salting by immersion in salt nose for 24 hours, until the arrival of the next production.

Subsequently, it is passed to the dryer at a controlled temperature to remove the rest of the moisture.

Day in and day out, it turns.

When it takes about a month and a half it is cleaned with brush and water.

One or two days at most later, it is painted with paprika (once) and from there it is turned once a week smearing it with oil throughout its useful life.

It expels moisture.

When it is 2 months old it is ready to sell and goes to the natural cellar.

The maximum of an aged cheese is one and a half years.

The bark is natural, free of plastics and waxes.