Manchego cheese

I have heard about this great cheese from a coworker and am looking forward to buying some in Madrid. I have found it locally for around $10 a pound at a local cheese store and around $7 at Sam's Club. How much does it generally cost in Spain and does anyone recommend a specific variety (aged/young)? Also, is this something I can legally bring back to the U.S.?

I am 2 1/2 weeks away from my trip to Madrid and I can't wait to buy a nice piece of Manchego, some fresh bread and a bottle of wine for a snack!

You will find tons of kinds of manchego cheese in Spain! Semi-cured (semi-curado) is probably the best to try. You can bring back a whole wheel of cheese, I believe, but not cut pieces (someone else know??). The really cured manchego tastes like imported Italian parmesano, kinda. Enjoy!!

WHAT???? Ed S, you found REAL Spanish Manchego cheese at Sam's Club???????????

Hi, rgf is correct, you are able to bring back any of the wonderful cheeses in Spain (even cabrales) if it is the whole wheel (entero). We always bring at least one wheel back and my in=laws send us chees via the mail all the time... Enjoy!!!!

Yes MM I was surprised myself. A coworker who lived in Spain said whe was able to buy it at Sam's Club. I went there this past weekend and sure enough they had nice, big wedges of it for $7 a pound. The real stuff. Sam's actually had quite a large selection of imported cheeses. Since I will be in Madrid in 2 1/2 weeks I didn't buy any though. I didn't want to spoil myself yet. Plus I will appreciate it more in Spain.

It costs more or less between 2000 y 3000 ptas/kg (12-15 $/kg)

When I was in Spain 6 weeks ago, I bought several wheels of "manchego" cheese which were on- sale at a large chain of supermarkets (Hipermercados) called Carrefour.
Weighed a little over a kilo each & came vacuum sealed into a plastic jacket. Price (at rate of exchange then) was about $3.00 a lb. or 1245 pts. a kilo.
Brand was Garcia Barquero - curado. Excellent tasting & we prefer over the semi-curado.
Cabrales cheese was selling then for around 2300 pts. a kilo.
No problems with US Customs. (Years ago we were told by Customs agent upon arrival from Madrid at Newark airport that they only would not permit entry of "liquid or stringy" cheeses}

[This message has been edited by JDR (edited 01-29-2001).]

Manchego and even some jamon and botifarras (pre BSE scare) were seen by yours truly in NYC. Those of you in the 'frontier areas' (heh heh) of the US may have trouble finding it though.

However I do know it can be found in Florida also.

I agreed with Miguelito. Real Manchego cheese costs about 2000 pesetas per kilo.

Unfortunately, JDR, what you got for 1245 pesetas per kilo wasn't the authentic thing. Manchego cheese is so good and popular that many companies add this name to their cheeses. I've seen "Manchego" cheese which was actually made in Valladolid.

It's like champagne. The equivalent we have in Spain can't be called "champagne" because it's not made in France in that region. Real Manchego cheese have to be made in La Mancha region, using only sheep milk (most cheeses have cow milk because it's a lot cheaper) and it has to be cured for at least 3 months. This is what I heard in a TV report. However, most people sell "Manchego" style cheese which has been made somewhere else in Spain, with a high percentage of cow milk and without following the curing process.

[This message has been edited by Antonio (edited 02-12-2001).]

Ed S!!!! You were absolutely right! (not that I doubted you ) I went to Sam's Club (a large, HUGE-quantity, warehouse style grocery store) Friday night and sure enough, they had Manchego cheese!!! It was about $7/pound and I was SO happy until I realized/found that I'd have to join the "club" for $35/year. Well, I decided NOT to join and therefor NOT get the Manchego cheese for my ladyfriend's visit this weekend. I was very disappointed, but I wouldn't go very often each year and would likely ONLY buy the cheese there. (however, they seemed to have good deals on olive oil too)

Manchego Cheese-less (boo hoo) in Columbus, Ohio, MadridMan

I think Whole Foods markets on the west coast have been mentioned before...I think their cheese department is the best we have here....I was there on Saturday and noticed they have an incredible selection of Spanish cheeses- tetilla, mahon, cabrales, and 3 different types of manchego, aged 3,6 and 9 monthes, your choice...I was in heaven!!!!!

Wegman's grocery stores also carry Manchego cheese.

laduque--you are right about Whole Foods. The several here have plenty of varieties of Spanish cheeses. Most co-ops do though, even my teeny tiny one here carries Manchego. It is expensive stuff too, but you shouldn't have to use so much of it, because it usually has a sharper edge to it's taste than most cheeses.

Speaking of which, does anybody have any good recipes they'd like to share that include manchego cheese?

MM,
Greeting from Madrid! Finally here and everything is perfect including the weather. Hostel Lopez is great also.

Now to the post. At Sam´s club you can get a guest pass for a day where they make you pay 15% more for the products you buy. You should be able to get this pass at customer service. That would make it about $8 a pound but still a great deal for Manchego. I just bought a big chunk at a super-mercado in Segovia for 1995 pts a kilo. Can´t wait to try it.

Ed

Greetings to you in Madrid, Ed S.!! Hope you're having a FANTASTIC time!

Funny that the fine folks at Sam's Club didn't mention to me, as I was standing at the customer service counter with two wedges of Manchego cheese and a 5 liter jug of olive oil, that I could get a guest pass and just pay 15% more for the items I wanted. Hmph!! I'll have to call them on the phone and verify this for this particular location. DARNIT!!! I REALLY could have used that manchego LAST weekend. ARGH!

always look for the 'denominacion de origen' la mancha or castilla-la mancha on authentic queso manchego... it's usually a stamp branded into the outside of the cheese or on the label itself.

take a quick trip to ciudad real or valdepeñas to buy it!

I bought some queso manchego at Wegman's last night to take to a dinner party. Paid $6.75 for 3/4 of a pound, but what can you expect from an import. It was great -- one of the other people there is from Mallorca and was gobbling it up. Ah, Spanish food....

Whole Foods also carries membrillo (that's the name for that quince jelly that lots of Spanish people eat with cheese, isn't it?)--at least here in Minneapolis. I haven't tried it (not being a big cheese fan--though manchego grilled cheese sandwiches are heavenly), but thought someone on the list might like to give it a test!

Thanks everyone on your input here. I didn't bring home a whole wheel though I did bring home a couple of nice wedges (one I cut into for a snack while still in Madrid). It is excellent, as was all of Madrid, Segovia and Toledo. I now see why everyone is so crazy about this city. Friendly people, great food and drink, great sights and, for us, 7 days with nothing but sunshine and warm weather. Sure beats the snow storm we returned to in Philly.

MM, I think I was wrong about Sam's club, I think the actual mark up is only 5% extra. That is even better. I hope you can get a guest card, if not find a friend with a membership. Although, I am sure you can make up the $35 membership fee with a year's worth of inexpensive olive oil and Manchego!

Ed

Here in the San Francisco bay area and probably much of California, Trader Joe's carries Mahon and Manchego cheese.

The posts about Whole Foods are correct - they have an incredible assortment of Spanish cheese - Drunken Goat, Manchego, Mahon, Tetilla, Valdeon, etc. However, what Trader Joe's lacks in selection, they make up in price.

Also, Whole Foods carries Jamon Serrano. My favorite Spanish food: blood sausage. Where to find? Dean & DeLuca in St. Helena, the Napa Valley - it has a pretty long shelf life and is great in a soup with lentils!

MM,

You might be surprised at the buys you can find at Sam's. We've been members for years and often find imported products from Spain at a reasonable price. But it goes beyond that, since they are kind of like a lesser priced version of their parent (Walmart), and often offer unique products.

You might want to wander around their aisles a bit, and see what all they have. My wife and I figure we save several hundred dollars a year buying selected products there.

I'm not an employee of Sam's (grin). In fact my wife tries to keep me out of there because I have a tendency to spend lots of money on their offerings.

Like the nifty table settings from Spain, which I bought a few months back, because it was the same as what we saw in Spain but couldn't haul back in our luggage. It actually cost 40% less here.

Wolf