Other cheeses from Menorca that are not from Mahón

CitadelJosé Casasnovas and Maria José Sintes aren't farmers. Thirteen years ago, they promoted the creation of a luxury campsite in Sona Parets Vives, the nearly 40-hectare estate they manage south of Ciutadella. The project didn't go ahead, but after the headaches with the authorities, they decided to work the land, buy cattle, and make a product that would set them apart from the rest. The result is called Gaia, an ancient deity from Greek mythology who personified the earth and who now gives her name to a cheese. It's said to be the only 100% goat and organic cheese made in Menorca.

The new cheese has been available in four stores and a herbalist for a few days now, and will soon be extended to other businesses, including—they plan—direct sales at the municipal market. But it's been a long road to achieving this.

The first step, they explain, was to seek advice from an agricultural engineer and purchase 100 goats and four Murcian-Granada goats. "It's the dairy goat best adapted to Menorca's climate," notes Maria José, who also highlights its high cheese production. She is, in fact, the one in charge of milking them, while her husband takes care of watering and preparing the land.

The entire farm is organic and they practice regenerative agriculture. "We don't till it, nor do we apply herbicides or fertilizers, but we do plant different seeds. And yes, our land may not look as aesthetically pleasing as neighboring farms that use traditional farming systems, but it provides us with biodiversity that enriches production," comments José Casasnovas.

This, he explains, is the key to Gaia's success. In fact, the 160 goats already in Sona Parets Vives were used last year for milk production. "At the Sa Roqueta laboratory—the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture in Ciutadella—they were surprised. The milk has more fat and protein than it should," he notes.

"Better grasses than alfalfa are also appearing to feed the herd, and of course, this also facilitates the natural regeneration of the land. When our horses relieve themselves, ten minutes later there's no trace of feces. On the other hand, in neighboring areas, where the cow defecates, it remains there."

From Gaia to Alcaidusset

Gaia is a solo venture for the couple who own the farm. Marc Casasnovas also started it two decades ago, turning his small five-hectare farm in Ciutadella into a center for diversified organic production of farm products. From garden produce to eggs, cured meats, and even cheeses. His most notable product is his goat cheese, which he makes with the milk of the native Menorcan goat breed he is restoring. During the months when he can't work, from September to January, he uses organic red cow's milk from farms like Els Tudons, with which he makes his cheeses with vegetable rennet. Marc sells his products directly every Saturday at the municipal market.

Her case, like that of Sona Parets Vives, differs from the vast majority of farms in Menorca which, while they risk innovating with some differentiated production, usually do so as a complement to traditional cheesemaking. Always under the commercial umbrella of synergies and the strategy of the Regulatory Council of the Mahón-Menorca Designation of Origin.

The Alcaidusset estate (San Luis), to which Sona Parets Vives sold her milk last year, dedicates 60% of its production to making cow's milk with the DO. But Joan Pons, the owner and proprietor of the place, has also been experimenting with goat's cheese for 25 years and has been testing sheep's cheese for about 17 years.

Joan Pons represents the fifth generation of a lineage of farmers. Currently, he runs a farm with 250 goats, 100 sheep, more than 100 pigs, and 60 cows, and markets his cheeses under the Quesos Binibeca brand. He was the first producer in Menorca to make goat cheese, and this year he has added a dozen varieties: with olive, oregano, basil, smoke, truffle, rosemary, pistachio, sun-dried tomato, and saté, a spice concentrate widely used in oriental cuisine.

With truffle, pistachio, or saté flavor

"Not everything has to be Mahón cheese, nor does it necessarily have to be cow's milk cheese to be from Menorca!" says Joan, who even has his own shop in the Mercadal to sell his products. Of those he's had on the market for some time, the goat cheese with wine and herbs is the most popular. "A new customer will buy a goat cheese sooner than a traditional one, because it's different and has more variety," he explains.

However, only a fifth of the 60 tons of cheese produced each year at Alcaidusset are goat cheese. And even less are sheep's milk. However, while the main market for traditional cow's milk cheese with a DO is in Mallorca, the rest have a more varied clientele, and even more so now that he's dared to create many flavors. "It's a trend that's becoming increasingly popular," he emphasizes. Alcaidusset has a turnover of one million euros a year.

Major producers of Mahón-Menorca cheese, such as Sa Canova, have also successfully experimented with different flavors and varieties based on the traditional cheese. Their 'Cala Blanc' and 'Cala Blau' have won the World Cheese Awards in recent years, the Oscars of cheese.

The new manager of the Regulatory Council, Carol Quevedo, respects the right of all producers to market cheese made on the island outside the umbrella of the Mahón-Menorca seal. "I don't mind them being free to make the product they're most interested in, as long as they comply with the regulations and don't take advantage of the brand," she says.

In fact, among these goat and sheep cheese producers are some of the 98 farms that produce cow's milk cheese protected by the Regulatory Council with Designation of Origin (CRDO). Last year, 3.5 tons of Mahón-Menorca cheese were produced, 61% of which was semi-hard cheese, 22% cured cheese, and the remaining 17% soft cheese. Currently, 42 farms and companies market it.