La Casona
There is actually not a lot of information out there about La Casona regardless of language. That happens sometimes in regions like Asturias. The combination of large numbers of individual cheeses, low production numbers, and intensely local tastes can create a situation where there is a new ‘hidden gem’ around every corner. Such is the case here. Not widely available even in Asturias, this is a cheese to go in search of.
Where Is It From?
Made by Quesos Monje in Panes, a town in Peñamellera Alta.
How La Casona Is Made
Quesos Monje makes another cheese (that I will feature soon) called Monje Nata. This cheese is a variation on that product. Both begin with the same pasteurized cow’s milk. But where Monje Nata is a medium-long cured cheese, La Casona is matured only for between 10 and 14 days.
Additionally, La Casona is an unpressed cheese, with small to medium eyes in the dense smooth paste.
History
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHEESE
Uses For La Casona
Common Uses: It will make an occasional appearance on a cheese board in the area it is from, but for the most part, it flies under the radar of official culinary orthodoxy.
How I Use It: Pair this with a toasted bread and some jam for a spectacular snack. If you let it sit out as long as I do, in contradiction to all fussy cheese advice, it becomes soft and oily enough to smear. IF you happen to have some buttery crackers around at that point…
Where To Find La Casona
This one is something of a tricky thing. Outside of the immediate area of manufacture, it can be strangely hard to find. I’ve seen it now and then at smaller “fine food shop” type places, and once (only once) in a grocery store.
Even the usually well-stocked mail order houses do not have it reliably. It is possible to catch up to the makers at one of the cheese festivals in Asturias, and they always have some with them.
