MC

Updated Saturday, February 3, 2024-01:52

Casar de Cáceres

is a small town in the province of Cáceres with just over 4,000 inhabitants, known worldwide for

Torta del Casar

, a soft cheese made with raw sheep's milk and vegetable rennet (flower of the thistle

cynara cardunculus

). This jewel of local (and national) gastronomy has a Protected Designation of Origin (DOP) and is a tourist attraction not only for the town, but also for the area, the regions of Llanos de Cáceres, Sierra de Fuentes and Montánchez, where it is made. in an artisanal way this coveted dairy.

Located in a natural environment of high ornithological value, just 12 km from the city of Cáceres, Casares is an obligatory stop for pilgrims on the Vía de la Plata on their way to Santiago de Compostela. Among its houses of

popular architecture

with simple whitewashed facades with granite frames on doors and windows, are its most emblematic monuments, such as the

Church of Our Lady of the Assumption

(built in the 13th and 14th centuries and rehabilitated in the 16th century), the hermitages of La Soledad, Mártires, Santiago, San Bartolomé, Encarnación and that of the Virgen del Prado and the remains of the

Roman Road

(Iter ab Emérita Asturicam), an important vestige that runs through the town.

Church of Our Lady of the Assumption.

But the obligatory stop for fans of gastronomy, and especially cheese, is, precisely, the

Torta del Casar Cheese Museum

(Barrionuevo Bajo, 7), where the visitor will learn everything about the history and the artisanal production process of this identity reference of the town.

Its origin dates back to feudal times and to the Royal Privilege of Sancho IV, in the 13th century, in a town with a pastoral and nomadic culture, the result of its strategic location. According to legend, a shepherd, after milking his sheep and drinking their milk, fell asleep under a tree. When he woke up, he discovered that some flowers had fallen into the bowl from which he had drunk and that the milk had curdled. After letting it mature for a couple of months, he saw that, unusually, the cheese had flattened and the inside was creamy. He tried it and thought it was exquisite.

Cheese Museum.

The protagonist of this miracle, which transforms milk into cream, is

the flower of the thistle

Cynara cardunculus

, a plant from the artichoke family that has been used for centuries in the preparation of Torta del Casar, instead of the traditional animal rennet.

In addition to showing cheese production, the museum shows the daily life of the town's families, as well as the history of herding and manufacturing through the different rooms of this unique house in the town.

Where to buy Casar cake

The town has numerous cheese shops and specialized shops that make it impossible to leave without a Torta del Casar.

Doña Francisca

(Pol. Charca del Hambre, plot 6; Tel: 927 291 412) also offers the possibility of taking a guided tour of its facilities, where they show the process of making cheese with traditional techniques. After touring the milk reception, production, brine, maturation chambers and shipping room, and carrying out a cheese-making workshop, tastings are carried out

to taste

up to ten varieties of cheeses, including, of course, the Torta del Casar (price: 12 euros).

Quesos del Casar

(Ctra. Casar Arroyo, s/n; Tel.: 927 290 596) is a family-owned cheese factory founded in 1985. Its Torta del Casar, from the Gran Casar brand, has won numerous national and local awards.

Iberques Extremadura

(Pol. Charca del Hambre, plot 72; Tel.: 927 100 660),

Los Casareños

(Pol. Charca del Hambre, plot 4, Tel.: 927 290 159),

La Despensa Del Queso

(P.º Extremadura, 5; Tel.: 927 042 539) or

Torta del Casar

(Av. Constitución, 13; Tel.: 927 290 713), are other shops and cheese shops in the town where you can get one of the emblematic cheeses.

To taste Torta del Casar, in tapa, whole or accompanying some of the delicacies of Cáceres gastronomy,

Casa Claudio

(P.º Extremadura, 2; Tel.: 927 290 246), which highlights its creamy boletus rice with Iberian dewlap, Torta del Casar, truffle and crispy squid ink. Also

Majuca Restaurant

(Larga Alta, 7; Tel.: 927 291 118) or

Bar El Siglo

(Plaza España; Tel.: 686 803 518).

The surroundings

The Charca del Casar area, on the outskirts of the town, is a good place to take walks and observe birds, birds of prey such as the Egyptian vulture, the golden eagle, the black stork... and grazing sheep. There are a series of

hiking

and Mountain Bike routes for all types of audiences, such as La Lana 5: La Vía de la Plata (circular of about 28 km) or Zafrilla and La Cantera, also circular, of about 17 km. (more information here).