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