Originated in the far north of Portugal, this cheese is made from the sheep’s milk of the Churra da Terra Quente (Terrinchas) a race of excellent sheep’ milk producers. The Terrincho DOP is a ripened soft cheese, uniform white color, slightly oily, obtained by slow draining of the curd after coagulation of raw milk by the action of animal rennet. Cured and aged for a minimum of 60 days but commonly aged to 90 days to achieve the aged status (Velho) covered with sweet red pepper. Terrincho is produced in medium-sized rounds of 600-700 grams, with a smooth clean and very characteristic mild taste. When aged the rind is very hard and the interior is smooth straw-yellow, slightly oily paste with some eyes, and sometimes deformable, with a strong flavor. Both have the form of bass drum, regular, with some bulging cheeks, without defined borders and a diameter ranging from 13 to 20 centimetres. There also one variety of Terrincho which is cured in wooden barrels filled with rye to give it a distinctive affinage.