Dairy

Roncal

Roncal is a hard sheep’s-milk cheese from the Roncal Valley in Navarre, among Spain’s oldest protected denominations. Latxa and Rasa Aragonesa ewes supply rich milk for pressed cylindrical wheels with a natural rind and a dense, ivory-to-straw paste that ages toward a dry, piquant, slightly piquant-sheep flavour with hints of dried herbs and toasted grain. Serve thick slices with Navarra red wine, roasted nuts, or cherry conserve; grate aged pieces over vegetable stews. Compared with Idiazábal it is less often smoked and more austere—mountain cellar rather than cider-house smoke. PDO ripening typically runs several months; older wheels need a few minutes out of the cold to show their full savoury length.