Claudia Romeo: São Jorge cheese is one of Portugal's best-kept secrets. Made in a remote volcanic
island under constant humidity, this cheese is packed with moisture, hints of spiciness, and a grassy scent. The art of cheesemaking arrived here on the island of São Jorge over 500 years ago, and it has become an important
part of its identity. Imagine -- there are over
10,000 cows on the island, which is more than double the
size of the human population! Cows here even dictate the start of their day for their keepers. São Jorge is a tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It is also home to one of the richest and most elaborate cheeses on Earth: São Jorge cheese. The volcanic geology of this island means that its soil is rich and fertile. The result is abundant vegetation
that basically never dies and cows that are able to
graze freely 365 days a year. These conditions make São Jorge cheese incredibly rich in flavor. Every bite reminds of the very grass where everything started. Claudia: João is one of the
keepers here in São Jorge. He runs one of the only
four dairies on the island, the smallest of them all, and the one that sticks to the way this cheese has been made for decades. His 40 cows give him around
400 liters of milk per day: 200 at dawn and 200 at sunset. He will combine them to make cheese. When milk arrives at the dairy, it's João's mom, Graça, and his dad, Manuel, who take the lead. They devote the whole cheesemaking process to preserving the flavors
of the island in the cheese by not killing the native cultures that are present in the milk. To do that, there are two crucial steps: The first thing is to keep the milk raw and not pasteurize it. The second is to use
whey from the day before to ferment the milk instead of adding other fermenting agents. This way, the whey is imparting
even more flavor to the milk without interfering with
its natural composition. As this is a more gentle
way to acidify the milk, it takes four hours to
split the milk into curds: one hour of rest, and
three hours of cutting. This is more than double
the time other cheeses take. Why is it this long? Is it a recipe that is
specific to São Jorge? Claudia: How did the recipe come to you? Claudia: And then your
family has perfected it? João: Yes. With the experience. Claudia: At the four-hour
mark, the cheese is salted and transferred into molds. It will stay in the molds for 48 hours, with just a short break after
one day to quickly turn it. São Jorge then matures
from three to 12 months. Unlike other cheeses that
spend their aging days in temperature-controlled rooms, São Jorge rests at room temperature. Why? São Jorge island is a very humid place, subject to constant fog. Like, really, really thick fog. As it ages, the humidity
packs the cheese with moisture and turns it from sweet and
mild to tangy and peppery. Claudia: That's true.
Actually, we drove around, and we saw all of the
cheesemaking at the top. Claudia: And it's ready to be tasted. Claudia: And what is this? Is this, like, the moisture of the cheese? João: Yes. Claudia: That stays inside? OK. Just from here, you can see
that it's pretty wet inside. Claudia: Can we try it? João: Yes. It's a bit spicy, like São Jorge cheese. Claudia: And it's nice and soft, but without being chewy. You can feel the humidity is still there. João: Thank you. Claudia: On an island where
there are so few people and the only ones to compete for space are cows and hydrangeas, you might expect that João's cheese is accessible to all the
human population here. But this is not the case. There are bigger, more
commercial cheese factories on the island that are making
a less traditional version of São Jorge cheese.
