Queijo Picante da Beira Baixa

Queijo Picante da Beira Baixa is the Picante type of the PDO cheese Queijo da Beira Baixa, produced from raw milk of Merino sheep or other regionally adapted sheep breeds and Charnequeiro goats or other regionally adapted goat breeds. It is a rindless, hard or semi-hard cured cheese with a minimum curing period of 120 days, made exclusively within the demarcated geographical area of Beira Baixa.

About this designation

Queijo Picante da Beira Baixa is one of three types — alongside Amarelo and Castelo Branco — covered by the PDO registered as Queijo da Beira Baixa under file number PDO-PT-0214. The designation was granted EU protection on 21 June 1996. The applicant group is the Associação de Produtores de Queijo do Distrito de Castelo Branco, based in Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal. The Picante type is produced from raw milk drawn from Merino sheep or other sheep breeds well adapted to the region, and from Charnequeiro goats or other goat breeds well adapted to the region; the milk may come from a single breed or be mixed in different proportions. The minimum curing period for the Picante type is 120 days. The cheese is rindless, takes the form of a short regular cylinder with straight sides and smooth, defined edges, and has a hard or semi-hard consistency with no openings or small and irregular openings. The pulp varies in colour from off-white to greyish. The specification describes the aroma and flavour as very active and characteristic, and very spicy. Physical parameters for the Picante type are: height 3–5 cm, weight 0.4–1 kg, diameter 10–15 cm, moisture 49–63%, and fat 35–60%. All milk production, manufacture, maturation, and curing must take place within the demarcated geographical area. Labelling must include the indication 'Queijo da Beira Baixa – Denominação de Origem Protegida' or 'Queijo da Beira Baixa PDO', together with the type indication Picante.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 28, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PDO on 21 June 1996 under file number PDO-PT-0214 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013224).
• The minimum curing period for the Picante type is 120 days, the longest of the three Queijo da Beira Baixa types.
• The Picante type is rindless; the specification states it has no openings or small and irregular openings.
• All feed supplied to the animals must come from the geographical area, except in defined times of scarcity, and must not exceed 50% of dry matter on an annual basis from outside the area.

Tasting notes

Beira Baixa pressed cheese DOP, distinctive — intensely pungent salty-spicy flavor (the name "picante" = "spicy"), aged 4+ months.

HoReCa use

Tábua de queijos for assertive flavor; pairs with Vinho do Porto.

Packaging

• wheel-full-300-700g
• wedge-vacuum-200g