Manchego, cheese of the discord between Mexico and the EU
Two cheeses of the same name, on each side of the Atlantic, are at the heart of the negotiations for the renewal of the trade agreement between Brussels and Mexico.
In the cheese department, there are Manchego and Manchego. One is made in Spain with sheep's milk, its texture is crunchy and its rind is brown. The other, usually produced from cow's milk in Mexico, has a less pronounced taste and a smoother texture.
The two cheeses do not play in the same court: the first, which bears the name of its region of origin, La Mancha, has been the subject of a protected designation of origin (PDO) in Europe since 1996. The second , sold inexpensively in Mexican supermarkets, is mainly intended to melt easily in the middle
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the Spaniards have Manchego, this sheep's cheese from the vast plains of La Manca, the region of Don Quixote.
This cheese, which can sometimes be matured for two long years before being consumed, is therefore not in Spain. Except that there is another Queso Manchego: in Mexico.
Except that over there, it's a cow's milk cheese, often sold grated or sliced to be added to burritos, in gratins or on tortillas - which in Mexico also have nothing to do with thick. and delicious Spanish tortillas.
Why this cheese story? Because it's the Manchego war right now between Mexico and Spain. And that's where Donald Trump comes in! Since he decided to renegotiate the free trade agreement between Mexico and the United States, Mexicans have been panicking.
They are trying to diversify their trade so as not to depend too much on Washington. So the Mexicans have taken it into their heads to renegotiate the agreement which, since 2000, has linked them with the European Union. And on the way, they met the Manchego.
There is no question for the Spaniards that a poor cheese made from cow's milk bears the name of their august centuries-old sheep's milk wonder. In Madrid, we do like Soupalognon y crouton in Asterix: we hold our breath and we don't want to give in.
Mexicans use an unstoppable argument: you just had to invade us and stay in Mexico for over 300 years! Because who imported the Manchego to Mexico? The homesick Spanish Conquistadors!
The Manchego is the fruit of an imperial history, that of Spain in Latin America. The Conquistadores destroyed the Aztec civilization and their modern followers would like to deprive the Mexicans of the only digestible thing they left? No way !
