About Us
Share
Artisan sheep cheese from Ciudad Real.
Somewhere in La Mancha, in a place I do not care to remember… Just kidding, obviously we want to remember where we are from.
80 years ago in Bolaños de Calatrava, a small town of the province of Ciudad Real of 11.000 habitants, our grand-father Eusebio started to create artisanal cheese with his small livestock. Gradually, the cheese became more and more popular. So popular that you had to be on a waiting list in order to get the “Queso Saleta”.
What’s the origin of Saleta? Saleta was our great-grandfather’s name. Such an unusual name that it became the nickname of the family.
Over the years, the love for this traditional delicacy from La Mancha was passed down through generations, until one day Ángel and Mariana decided to turn their passion into a business. And this is how they started making cheese in their land, heating up the milk in the chimney, shaping it with esparto grass mat and a wooden bench like it was traditionally done.
In 1991, they decided it was time to step forward and build an artisanal factory in which during 13 magnificent years, they developed artisanal cheese that attracts more and more fans thanks to its quality and the word of mouth.
With our future in mind, the future of their children, they built in 2004 more modern and bigger infrastructures next to the cattle, in Moral road.
On the 22th of December 2004 (yes, you could say we won the Spanish Christmas lottery), we took charge of the family business, continuing the tradition that started with our grand-father Eusebio, whom we owe so much and keep in mind every step we make.
We worked day after day, pursuing a dream that seemed unreachable: make Saleta Cheese known nationally and internationally, and we can proudly say that with effort, work and consistency we made it.
After 16 years, last 2021, the hard work of these 80 years of dedication, was acknowledged for the first time. We decided that it was time to enter GREAT TASTE, this high regarded cheese awards, where 3 of our best cheeses were rewarded: the semi-cured and cured cheese with two stars and three stars to our aged cheese, which we especially appreciate as it has sentimental value for us. And a month later, our cured cheese was rewarded again as most recognised on the continent with a bronze medal at WORLD CHEESE AWARDS.
And because of all this, we are looking at the future with enthusiasm, because we know it’s only the beginning and the best is yet to come.
Location
Our factory is located in Bolaños de Calatrava, a 30 km of Ciudad Real, in the domains of the Order of Calatrava and dwellings of Quixote, a privileged area in terms of livestock farming, due to hard and extreme climate, which favour the growth of very rustic vegetation, fodder for a curious and ancestral sheep breed. The result of those characteristics make it a unique cheese in the world, that has been impossible to imitate due to the many factors involved that only occur within the borders of la Mancha..
This bestows upon the milk a premium quality, that is naturally transmitted to the final product: THE CHEESE.
Installations
We possess modern installations. Our capacities of production allow us to answer to all requirements needed from our national and international customers, while respecting the traditional methods essential to achieve the quality and the characteristics of the authentic Artisan pure sheep’s milk cheese that our ancestors passed down to us and set us apart from our competitors.
