Made in São Jorge Island, in the Azores Archipelago, São Jorge PDO cheese is considered by many a masterpiece, holder of a distinctive flavor. Since 1986, the production area of São Jorge cheese is restricted to São Jorge Island only, instituted by the Regional Regulatory Decree nº 24/86/A, that created the São Jorge Cheese Demarcated Region, besides the product receiving the regulation of the Protected Designation of Origin - PDO, for the manufacturing of the São Jorge cheese brand.

 

 

It is reported that the beginning of the production of São Jorge PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) Cheese is approximated to the discovery of that island (mid-15th century). Its manufacture was encouraged by the Flemish community, experienced producers of food products such as meat, milk and their derivatives. The distinctive characteristics of São Jorge PDO cheese are due, on the one hand, to the soil and climatic conditions of that region, which give rise to pastures of various crops, which in turn, positively influence the quality of the milk.

 

 

São Jorge PDO cheese is a cured product, obtained from the coagulation of whole and raw cow's milk, only and exclusively from the island of São Jorge. To be considered a São Jorge Cheese PDO, the cheese must pass the test of the Chamber of Tasters of the Confraria do Queijo São Jorge, which validate the intrinsic characteristics of the São Jorge Cheese PDO: a firm consistency, yellowish hard or semi-hard paste with small eyes and irregular scattered in the mass and a brittle structure and cylindrical shape.