Casares Cheese Factory and Museum

Visit the Local Cheese Factory and Museum (Quesos Sierra Crestellina) in Casares on the Costa del Sol

I put the cheese in my mouth and greatly savour the flavour. This has to be the tastiest, most delicious cheese that I have ever tried. Surrounded by mountains and nature, I feel like a little Heidi taking in the clean mountain air, seeing the goats in the distance and slowly devouring my cheese. This is a magical place and one I would definitely return to. Make sure you visit Casares’ very own cheese factory and museum when you’re in the area!

Nestled up in the mountains, accessed via the Manilva – Gaucin road or by driving up the Casares road, you can find a family-run cheese factory: ‘Quesos Sierra Crestellina’.

Background

This cottage industry has been running for many years. The family are experts in their field with the know-how which has been passed down from generation to generation. They raise and breed the goats on their surrounding land to produce fresh goat products. From semi-mature and mature goats cheese to home-made desserts made from goats milk such as yogurts and rice pudding. 100% of the goats feed comes from the natural pastures surrounding them. The family’s aim is to work in tune with the environment. They run the end to end process from here. It is hard to believe that this is only 15 minutes away from the Manilva/Casares coastline.

Buying the Cheese

There is a little shop on the premises which is open throughout the day. The shop sells their fresh produce from the Sierra Bermeja mountains. Additionally, they sell some of the home-grown wines from the surrounding area such as Ronda. I would certainly recommend taking the drive to visit this small shop. Selecting their cheese is an experience in itself. The person tending to us explained the difference between the cheeses and allowed us to try them before purchasing. The rind of the cheese was completely edible as they only use olive oil to protect the outside.

Can’t get to the mountains? No problem – order your cheese online here.

Visiting Quesos Sierra Crestellina

The ‘museum’ also runs guided tours of the factory. These can be organised for private groups or you can join one of their main tours. You can contact them to find out free slots (see details below). The tours guide you through the process and you even get a chance to make your own fresh cheese. Many local schools come to the factory for their school trips.