The Traditional Manufacture of Goat Cheese

Since immediately after the discovery of the archipelago, the island of Maio was used for rearing livestock, especially goats, whose meat and hides, along with the salt, were used for many decades to supply ships that docked at the islands, either transporting slaves to Brazil or trading with Europe.

According to the documents from those times, the island had no agricultural production other than cotton. The corn and beans required for the population’s subsistence were brought in from Santiago.
Since it was a rather poor island, using goat milk for the traditional manufacture of the Queijo do Maio (cheese from Maio) was one of the means found by the rural population to make some profit and increase their revenue.

Queijo do Maio is a fresh goat cheese, which is still greatly appreciated for its peculiar flavor in comparison to the goat cheese from Boa Vista, from Sto. Antão or from Fogo.

Queijo do Maio is made from raw milk, adding rennet and leaving it for 48 hours at a suitable temperature in order to curdle. The curd is then drained in a special container and placed in small molds that were formerly made from palm fiber. Once all the whey is drained, the cheese can be eaten fresh. It can also be dried by being placed outdoors for 72 hours or more.

In years with high rainfall and, consequently, good conditions for grazing, there is a reasonable level of cheese production which is exported to Santiago, where it is sold in local markets.

In Cape Verde cuisine, the cheese is served for breakfast, being a good source of protein, or as a dessert, sliced and served with fresh papaya or guava marmalade, or also in the form of cheese pudding, a Cape Verde cuisine specialty.

Here is a recipe for cheese pudding, among several, offered by an admirer of the flavors of our land.

Grandma’s cheese pudding
Ingredients:
2 grated Maio cheeses (400 gr.)
8 eggs and 4 yolks
350 grams of sugar
1 cup of milk (200 ml.)
I tablespoon of butter
Zest of 1 lime
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Put the grated Maio cheese in a bowl, adding the sugar, the lime zest and the cinnamon. Whisk with a wooden spoon and slowly add the eggs, two at a time, and the egg yolks. When the eggs are fully mixed, pour in the cup of milk and add the melted butter. Continue to stir until the sugar is fully dissolved. Do not use an electric blender at any time.

Place it in the oven, in a baking dish well greased with butter. It should be left to bake for about 30 to 40 minutes in a moderate oven (180 º). Remove the pudding from the baking dish as soon as it is removed from the oven, while it’s still hot. Allow to cool and cover with liquid caramel.

Bon appetit!