Artisanal Cabrales: The World's Most Expensive Cheese in Northern Spain

The Art of Cabrales Cheese Making

• 🧀 In northern Spain, a dying culinary art produces the world's most expensive cheese: Cabrales blue cheese.
• 💰 A five-pound wheel of this artisanal cheese once sold at auction for over $40,000.

The Aging Process

• 🏞️ Authentic Cabrales must age for months in humid limestone caves, absorbing unique microflora that give it a pungent flavor and aroma.
• ⛰️ Cheesemaker Encarnacion Bada's family has been aging cheese in these caves for decades, with her daughter-in-law Eva Gutierrez continuing the tradition.
• 🚶‍♀️ Eva carries heavy loads of cheese up steep mountain paths to the aging caves.

Preserving Tradition and Culture

• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 For those who grew up with it, making Cabrales is a way of preserving a culture and tradition passed down from grandparents and parents.
• 💡 There's a hope that future generations, like Bada's son, will learn the craft, even if they don't make a living from it.

Uncertain Future of Artisanal Cheesemaking

• 📉 The number of artisanal cheesemakers is dwindling, with fewer than 20 remaining.
• ⚠️ The uncertain future of this craft could potentially drive prices even higher.
• 😥 The sentiment is that if the current makers stop, the tradition may cease to exist.