Ossau-Iraty Extra Mature (Onetik, Basque Country Cheese Factory)
This is the second variety of Ossau-Iraty I have tried this month in my enthusiasm to review my highest scoring cheeses from the past, and unfortunately this variety does not compare well to the others in my estimation.
The Onetik Extra Mature Ossau-Iraty is much harder than other Ossau-Iratys I have tried and the texture is significantly drier, more akin to other hard cheeses. As the texture is drier, I find it harder to pair with some of the more popular accompaniments and would instead recommend pairing it with a strong red wine. This cheese also lacks the distinctive and satisfying aftertaste you can find in other Ossau-Iratys.
This cheese is extremely expensive compared to other varieties at £2.78 per 100g. Therefore even though it isn’t objectively bad, as there are nicer tasting and cheaper Ossau-Iraty varieties available I do not recommend you buy this cheese unless you are particularly a fan of harder and sharper cheese. Indeed there may be better varieties of Ossau-Iraty available from the same shop, as was the case for me! If you find yourself wanting to try Ossau-Iraty, I recommend Marks and Spencer’s own, or potentially another less mature version, which will both significantly cheaper and softer due to having been matured less.
Lover of strong flavours and interesting experiences.
I’m eating this as part of my Christmas cheese board, and enjoying it quite a lot. I am a sucker for hard sheep’s cheese though. I left it out of the fridge for ages (too long) to warm up and it was pretty flavoursome.
I agree this is pretty dry and not exceptional; I’m finding the taste good but not mind-blowing. Excited to hear the other Ossau-Iraty is substantially better.