Queso San Simón da Costa

San Simón da Costa is a smoked cow's milk cheese produced within the District of Terra Chá, Lugo, Galicia. Its specification requires a pear-to-bullet shape terminating in a point, a smoked rind between 1 and 3 mm thick, and smoking exclusively over birch wood without bark. It is marketed in two sizes, large and small ('Bufón'), each with distinct minimum ageing periods.

About this designation

Registered as a PDO on 19 August 2004 under file number PDO-ES-0359 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013718), San Simón da Costa is produced exclusively within the municipalities of Vilalba, Muras, Xermade, Abadín, Guitiriz, Begonte, Castro de Rei, Cospeito and A Pastoriza, all in the Province of Lugo. Milk must come from Galician blond, brown Swiss and Friesian cows, and their crosses, held on registered farms within that area. The milk may be raw or pasteurised, must contain neither colostrum nor preservatives, and production must commence no more than 48 hours after milking. Coagulation uses rennet with the enzymes chymosin and pepsin, and starter cultures of Lactococcus lactis, Streptococcus cremoris and Streptococcus lactis strains. Curd is cut to grains of between 5 and 12 mm in diameter. Cheeses are salted in brine at a concentration of between 14 and 17 % for a maximum of 24 hours. The large format weighs between 0.8 and 1.5 kg and is aged a minimum of 45 days; the small format, known as 'Bufón', weighs between 0.4 and 0.8 kg and is aged a minimum of 30 days. Smoking is carried out exclusively with birch wood without bark. The dry extract must be a minimum of 55 %, and fat content must be between 45 % and 60 % of dry extract. Each certified cheese bears a numbered secondary label issued by the Inspection Body, the Dirección General de Producción, Industrias y Calidad Agroalimentaria. Labels must carry the words 'Denominación de Origen Protegida San Simón da Costa' and must state whether raw or pasteurised milk was used.

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

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PDO on 19 August 2004 under file number PDO-ES-0359, eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013718.
• Smoking must use birch wood without bark; no other wood is permitted by the specification.
• The small size, known as 'Bufón', must weigh between 0.4 and 0.8 kg and be aged a minimum of 30 days; the large size a minimum of 45 days.
• Each certified cheese must bear a numbered secondary label bearing a sequential alphanumeric code, issued and supplied by the Inspection Body.

Tasting notes

Galician cow's milk smoked cheese DOP, distinctive elongated-pear shape, aged minimum 45 days, smoked over birch wood. Distinctive amber-mahogany smoked rind, ivory-cream paste, semi-firm texture, intensely savory smoky-buttery flavor.

HoReCa use

Galician tabla de quesos; with regional preparations; pairs with Ribeira Sacra reds.

Packaging

• whole-pear-shape-400g-1.5kg
• half-piece-vacuum-300g
• wedge-vacuum-200g