In the first quarter of this year, Vale da Estrela Dairy in Mangualde received several hundred visitors who witnessed the production of Serra da Estrela Cheese.

Visitors are accompanied by a Cheesemaker, and informed about the natural way of producing Vale da Estrela Cheese.

On both floors there are windows that allow you to see the cheesemakers’ routine and the way they produce cheese and cottage cheese.

Many of the visitors are students from schools in the municipality of Mangualde, accompanied by their teachers and assistants.

Some produce school work and “reports” about the visit:

“We learned that the milk comes from the Bordaleiras sheep, from Serra da Estrela, then the thistle, which works as a rennet, and salt are added. Then the cheese mass is worked by the hands of the cheesemakers, who fill the molds that shape the cheese. Then the cheese goes to the chambers and after 30 days the cheese is ready to eat.”

Drawings made by the students

The Dairy also has a room where products related to pastoralism are displayed. There is also a video where you can see the milk cycle of the Bordaleiras sheep, typical of the Serra da Estrela region.