Editing Manchego (section)

==Manufacture and labelling==

The moulds in which the cheese is pressed are barrel-shaped. Traditionally, manchego cheese was made by pressing the curd in plaited [[esparto]] grass baskets, which left a distinctive zig-zag pattern (known as {{lang|es|pleita}}) on the rind.<ref name=PDO>{{Citation
  | title = Spanish food – Manchego cheese
  | year = 2005
  | url = http://www.iberianfoods.co.uk/manchego.htm
  | access-date = 28 April 2010
  | archive-date = 30 September 2018
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180930144145/http://www.iberianfoods.co.uk/manchego.htm
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref> Today, the same effect is achieved by the mould, the inside of which has a design in relief that imparts to the finished cheese an embossed pattern similar to that of woven esparto grass. The top and bottom surfaces of the cheese are impressed with a design of a head of [[wheat]].

During the maturation process, manchego cheese develops a natural rind. The regulations permit this to be washed, coated in [[Paraffin wax|paraffin]], dipped in [[olive oil]], or treated with certain approved transparent substances, but require that it must not be removed if the cheese is to be marketed as PDO.

Cheeses that meet the PDO requirements carry a [[casein]] tab that is applied when the cheese is in the mould and bear a distinctive label that is issued by the Manchego Cheese Denomination of Origin Regulating Council; this carries the legend {{lang|es|queso manchego}}, a serial number, and artwork depicting [[Don Quixote|Don Quixote de La Mancha]].<ref>{{Citation
  | title = Identification Manchego cheese
  | url = http://www.quesomanchego.es/ingles/identifica.htm
  | access-date = 28 April 2010
  | archive-date = 2 July 2012
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120702173811/http://www.quesomanchego.es/ingles/identifica.htm
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref>

A cheese that is similar to manchego<ref>{{cite web |access-date=11 December 2020 |title=Manchego Cheese Substitutes |url=https://cheese.buzz/manchego-cheese-substitutes/ |archive-date=7 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507000529/https://cheese.buzz/manchego-cheese-substitutes/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and made in the same region, but from a blend of cows’, goats’, and ewes’ milk, is sold as {{lang|es|queso ibérico}}, or {{lang|es|ibérico}} cheese.

Almost 60% of [[Cheeses of Spain|Spanish cheese]] with Denomination of Origin is Manchego, which makes it the main reference of Spanish cheese. As most of its production is exported, it is one of the most important ambassadors of Spain’s national gastronomy. La Mancha exported 5.9 million kg of this cheese in 2017, according to the Foundation for Manchego Cheese (Fundación C.R.D.O Queso Manchego).<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 March 2022 |title=Spanish Club Blog - Manchego Cheese: All About It |url=https://spanishclub.blog/manchego-cheese-all-about-it/}}</ref>