Queso Cabrales

Blue-veined cheese made from raw whole milk — cow's, sheep's, goat's, or a mixture — ripened in natural limestone caves within the Picos de Europa area of Asturias. The specification requires cave ripening for at least two months from curd production, a fat content of no less than 45 % in dry matter, and a minimum moisture content of 30 %.

About this designation

Cabrales is a blue-veined cheese produced exclusively within a defined area of the province of Asturias, Spain, comprising named villages in the municipality of Cabrales and the villages of Oceño, Cáraves and Rozagas in the municipality of Peñamellera Alta, all within the Picos de Europa. The milk used must be raw and whole — cow's milk, sheep's milk, goat's milk, or a mixture of two or all three — sourced from livestock farms within the same geographical area. Rennet must be exclusively of animal origin. The specification requires that milk production, cheese processing, and ripening all take place within the defined area, as must packaging. Ripening occurs in natural limestone caves, where air humidity exceeds 90 % and temperature is maintained between 6 °C and 10 °C; these conditions support the growth of Penicillium roqueforti, whose spores enter the body of the cheese to produce its characteristic greenish-blue veining. Caves are located at altitudes between 800 and 1 200 metres. Ripening must last at least two months from curd production. Fat content must be no less than 45 % in dry matter, and minimum moisture content is 30 %. Authenticity is confirmed by a numbered secondary label, approved and supplied by the Consejo Regulador de la Denominación de Origen Protegida 'CABRALES', which cannot be reused. Commercial labels must bear the words 'Denominación de Origen Protegida Cabrales' and the EU PDO logo. The designation was registered under file number PDO-ES-0081.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PDO on 21 June 1996 under file number PDO-ES-0081; eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000012957.
• Ripening caves must maintain humidity over 90 % and temperature between 6 °C and 10 °C; caves are located at altitudes between 800 and 1 200 metres.
• Each cheese must carry a numbered secondary label, approved and supplied by the Consejo Regulador, that cannot be reused.
• The specification permits rennet of animal origin only; no other type is permitted.

Tasting notes

Asturian raw cow's-or-mixed-milk blue cheese (cow milk required, sheep and/or goat optional in mix), aged in natural mountain caves of Picos de Europa. Aged 60+ days. Distinctive marbled blue-green Penicillium veining, ivory-cream paste, soft moist crumbly texture, intensely pungent salty-savory flavor with assertive blue-mineral character — among Europe's most powerful blue cheeses.

HoReCa use

**Asturian tabla de quesos climax**; melted in Cabrales sauce for solomillo (steak); on toasts with sidra; pairs with **Sidra Asturiana** (canonical pairing) and Pedro Ximénez.

Packaging

• wheel-full-1-1.5kg
• wheel-half-vacuum-500g
• wedge-vacuum-200g
• crumbled-pre-pack-100g