Quick Details
Where does the name “Queijo da Serra” come from? How and when is it made? And the requeijão? How is it done?
Private guided tasting tour with visit and experience to a farmouse cheese factory in the Beira Alta countryside.
There are many questions regarding the cheese-making tradition in Serra da Estrela region and you can get the answers to all of them while visiting an organic farm, close to the garden city town Viseu, during your holiday in the Center of Portugal.
At the farm with an excellent view over Serra da Estrela, the family will be there to welcome you at the cheese factory and will guide you and share the recipe for the most delicious cheese in central Portugal.
The farm is organic and produces not only cheese, but also vegetables, chestnuts and eggs from free-range chickens. During the visit you can meet the pigs, chickens, dogs and cats. Encountering all these animals makes this tour ideal for groups and families with children.
What is included
- Arrival at the farm and welcome by the producer;
- Brief introduction to the farm’s history over the last 50 years;
- Workshop during the production of the cheese:
- from the coagulation of the milk;
- milk, to the cutting of the curd, draining and molding;
- finally we make the requeijão.
- Genuine lunch: will be served with a tasting of different types of mountain cheese paired with ham (from the farm’s pigs) and slow fermentation bread, homemade honey, and Dão wine.
You will experience all stages of the Queijo da Serra manufacturing process and learn the techniques for organic production!
Transportation
- Not included – contact us if you need private transfer
Meeting point
- After booking we will send all the details of the farm, location (meeting point) and contact.
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Our Producer
Inserted in the demarcated area of Serra da Estrela cheese production, our farm produces curried sheep cheese, cottage cheese, goat cheese, and mix cheese.
For the process of the cheese, our farmers use a cynara cardunculus plant, commonly known as cardo — a natural cocktail of the traditional recipe of Serra da Estrela cheese.
The coagulant of plant origin results from the mixture of ground plant and sea salt. Being raw milk, it contains the microorganisms that are necessary for the fermentation of the cheese.
Google Map
Reviews
It was absolutely amazing. I would highly recommend doing this.The family on the farm were very nice. I learnt a lot about cheese-making. They cooked us up a traditional Portuguese meal which was yummy. It was good to see all the farm animals.
Unique experience, sharing knowledge and cultures! This is a great experience to learn more about cheese and how to do it, with a Portuguese touch 🙂
The Cheese experience was wonderful! the farmer were very knowledgeable on the cheese processing methods and received us very warmly. The set-up of the table and the quality of the cheese went beyond my expectations.
Me and my family visited the cheese making experience in the late autumn to learn more about the local tradition of cheese production as well as to get our hands on experience making some cheeses. The whole experience was run by Cristina and she walked us through the process as well as the history of the establishment. After making some cheeses, we were introduced to the matured versions of them to taste. Pairings were very local, seasonal and absolutely delicious. Shout out to the pumpkin jam which was served with the soft spread and walnuts. After this, we were treated to the three course dinner which was also sourced locally and tasted delicious! This was very pleasant and relaxing experience.