A visit full of flavor

On Friday November 4th we went to visit the cheese factory in Colmenar, known as the cooperative Agamma. There, we were received by Diego Doblas, manager of the cooperative, who before starting the visit told us many things about the collection of goat milk in the province, the quality control on the arrival of the milk to the factory that is done in his own laboratory, the cheese and the factory itself and its relationship to Colmenar.

Diego also responded kindly to the student´s questions such as how many liters of milk a goat could give a day, how many people work in the cooperative, how long the cooperative has been here in Colmenar or if goats are being milked by hand or mechanical. Some curious facts of the introduction were the 8 million liters of milk that Agamma receives annually and  that Diego still uses the peseta to refer to the price of a liter of milk. He explained that it is easier to say that a liter of milk is worth 6 pesetas than 0,036 euros.

Uniforms for everybody

Then we put the compulsory uniform, to maintain the hygienic conditions while visiting the production. We started in the storage room with the milk tanks, then moved on to the hall where the cheese molds are made, the packaging area, the cold storage rooms where the cheese is aged and stored and finally to the pasteurizing room.

During the visit Diego showed us the different types of cheese which are produced under the brand Montes de Málaga: old cheese (3 months of aging), semimature (1 month of aging), fresh cheese which is made daily and cheese made of raw milk or unpasteurized milk.

Tasting of Montes de Málaga cheese

Agamma offered a tasting of four types of cheese, during which we could ask Diego more about the cheese and its production. Finally, what remained was to take home a sample of the excellent cheeses of the Montes de Málaga from the selling point which is in the factory.

A very interesting visit that leaves us with a very good taste. See you the next Axalingua activity!