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| HISTORY OF CHEESE IN THE CANARY ISLANDS |
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| It is believed that cheese was first produced in Asia Minor, associated with pasture and a sedentary lifestyle, in response to the need to conserve the surplus of the milk that was produced. In the Canary Islands, in spite of the importance of goats in the Guanche economy, there is no clear reference that explains how the Canarian aboriginals made their product even though it is quite possible they used some kind of method to conserve milk. Traditionally, cheese-making was linked to women in the Canary Islands. Cheese was produced there in significant quantities once the Spanish Conquest was over. |
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| IN GRAN CANARIA |
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| Hand-made cheeses of Gran Canaria are characterized for being made from raw materials obtained on the farm and according to a traditional method (raw milk, enzymatic coagulation, pressed paste, etc.). The Canary Islands are one of the biggest hand-made cheese producers of the whole world. It is possibly the Autonomous Community of Spain with the highest per capita consumption of this product. The altitude and the orientation create many microclimates that favour the growth of various plant species. This entails that in Gran Canaria there are different kinds of hand-made cheese which are differentiated according to their origin. For this reason, it is impossible to compare a cheese from the North, the mid-altitude, the South, the coast or the summit. |
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