Cheese · DOP · Dão
A whey cheese sheep's milk cheese from Same area as Queijo Serra da Estrela DOP: 18 municipalities of the Serra da Estrela area, including Nelas, Mangualde, Penalva do Castelo and Viseu.
A whey cheese made from the whey left by Queijo Serra da Estrela. Water (10 to 20 percent) is added to the whey, which is heated slowly with constant stirring; at 82 C up to 18 percent sheep's milk may be added, and at 96 C the proteins set into curds. The curds are drained into an irregular low cylinder of 150 to 400 g. Traditionally the curds drained in small baskets of fine chestnut wicker (açafates) and were wrapped in cabbage or mulberry leaves; today they go into containers and are wrapped in vegetable paper. Eaten fresh. Despacho 19662/2001 of 18 September 2001 recognised it as a Portuguese denominação de origem while the EU application was pending, and the EU registered it as a DOP in 2005.
Made in: Same area as Queijo Serra da Estrela DOP: 18 municipalities of the Serra da Estrela area, including Nelas, Mangualde, Penalva do Castelo and Viseu
A soft, uniform, creamy to slightly granular white mass with a pleasant flavour and aroma that melt in the mouth, according to the DOP summary. Estrelacoop lists it eaten plain, dissolved in milk or coffee, or with honey or pumpkin preserve and nuts.
Rind: none, eaten fresh
Wine and cheese
Requeijão is eaten with honey or pumpkin preserve, so a sweet wine follows the same line. A late-harvest Dão white, soft and full with low acidity, matches the creamy white curd rather than cutting through it.
Fresh requeijão is white, creamy and mild. A dry traditional-method Dão sparkling brings bubbles and acidity that clear the palate between spoonfuls without masking the delicate flavour of the whey curd.
Requeijão is mild and creamy, so it takes a lean white: an unoaked varietal Cerceal is light in body with sharp acidity, enough to refresh between spoonfuls without competing with the delicate curd.
Requeijão is white, creamy and mild. A dry Dão white pressed from red grapes, Jaen or Touriga Nacional, refreshes between spoonfuls of the soft curd and brings a fruit that sets off its mild, milky flavour.
The grapes behind these winesTouriga NacionalEncruzadoBicalBagaMalvasia FinaCerceal Branco
From the source
Baroque manor in Penalva do Castelo, now a Parador hotel, with museum rooms, a vineyard, a cellar and a dairy that makes Serra da Estrela cheese and requeijão DOP; an Estrelacoop member. The dairy and cellar were shown to visitors on World Wine Tourism Day in November 2024, but no regular dairy tour is advertised.
Cooperative of Serra da Estrela DOP cheese producers in Celorico da Beira. Its online shop sells the cheese, Velho and requeijão, and it runs a course for qualifying cheese tasters.
Cheese shop on Praça de Santa Maria in Celorico da Beira, listed on the municipal portal. The listed hours date from 2020, so phone 271 747 473 before going.
Annual cheese fair in the town that markets itself as the capital of Serra da Estrela cheese, with a Serra da Estrela sheep show, cheese and wine tastings, cooking workshops, a community lunch and evening concerts. The 47th was held in February 2026.
Annual fair in Seia's municipal market with over 100 exhibitors (shepherds, cheese dairies and local producers), a Quinta do Pastor with Serra da Estrela sheep, a Serra da Estrela dog show, live cooking and short talks; in 2026 one was on Dão white wine pairings. The 49th was held in February 2026.
Cheese festival in Oliveira do Hospital's town centre, which the municipality bills as Portugal's largest, with hundreds of exhibitors, cheese and Dão wine tastings, live cheesemaking, sheep shearing and livestock shows. The 2026 festival was held in March.
Cheese market in and around Gouveia's municipal market: live Serra da Estrela cheesemaking by a queijeira, public tastings, a session on requeijão, a sheep and goat fair with a Serra da Estrela dog show, and a cheese and wine pairing workshop and commented tastings of regional aguardentes and olive oils that need pre-registration. The 2026 market was held in March.
Annual fair in Fornos de Algodres' municipal market with a Serra da Estrela sheep competition, public cheese tastings, showcooking, children's workshops, concerts and guided visits to artisan cheese dairies. The 47th was held in March 2026.
Shepherd and cheese fair next to the town hall in Penalva do Castelo, with tastings of Serra da Estrela cheese, Penalva Dão wine, broa and Bravo de Esmolfe apples, and choirs and concertina groups. The municipality reported thousands of visitors at the 35th, held in February 2026.
A cheese made by heating the whey left over from Serra da Estrela cheese until its proteins set, according to the DOP summary.
Plain, dissolved in milk or coffee, or with honey or pumpkin preserve, with or without walnuts, hazelnuts or almonds, according to Estrelacoop.
150 to 400 g per unit, according to the DOP summary.
Same cheeseboard
Plan the trip
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
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Sources: protection register, tradicional.dgadr.gov.pt, estrelacoop.pt. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.
