Ossau-Iraty

Ossau-Iraty is a salted, matured, uncooked and slightly pressed cylindrical ewe's milk cheese produced within a defined area of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques and part of Hautes-Pyrénées. Milk must come exclusively from Basque-béarnaise, Manech black head, or Manech red head ewes. The total dry extract must comprise at least 50 % milk fat and dry matter must be at least 58 grams per 100 grams of cheese.

About this designation

Ossau-Iraty is registered as a PDO under file number PDO-FR-0127, with EU protection granted on 21 June 1996 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000012910). The cheese is produced only from non-standardised, renneted ewe's milk sourced from Basque-béarnaise, Manech black head, and Manech red head ewes. Farm Ossau-Iraty must be produced exclusively from raw milk. The geographical area covers municipalities and parts of municipalities in the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and, bordering it, three municipalities in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées: Arbéost, Arrens-Marsous, and Ferrières. Milk production, cheese production, and maturation must all take place within this area. The maturing period is at least 80 days for cheeses weighing 2–3 kg and at least 120 days for cheeses weighing 4–7 kg. Average milk production per herd may not exceed 300 litres per ewe over one milk production year, and milking is prohibited in September and October. Herds must graze at least 240 days per year, and transgenic crops are prohibited on all farms producing milk for the designation. Each cheese must carry an embossed label applied during moulding; labels that do not meet grade are scraped off. Pre-packed portions must include the rind characteristic of the PDO. The PDO name must appear on labels in characters measuring at least two thirds of the size of the largest lettering.

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-FR-0127 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000012910).
• Only three breeds are permitted: Basque-béarnaise, Manech black head, and Manech red head; no other breed may supply milk.
• Minimum maturation is 80 days for 2–3 kg cheeses and 120 days for 4–7 kg cheeses.
• Milking is prohibited in September and October, and average herd milk production may not exceed 300 litres per ewe per milk production year.

Tasting notes

Basque-Béarn raw sheep's milk pressed uncooked cheese, aged 80-180+ days. Pale ivory to amber paste, firm yielding texture, characteristic sheep-milk flavor with sweet-floral notes (mountain pasture: sage, thyme, fennel) evolving to caramel-nutty when aged. Two terroirs: Pays Basque (Iraty) and Béarn (Ossau).

HoReCa use

**Plateau de fromages with cherry preserve** (confiture de cerises noires d'Itxassou — the canonical pairing); shaved on salads; in Basque country dégustation menus; pairs with Jurançon and Irouléguy.

Packaging

• wheel-full-2-7kg
• wheel-half-vacuum-1.5kg
• wedge-vacuum-500g
• wedge-vacuum-250g