Portugal has a somewhat unique cheesemaking culture, heavily centered around sheep milk and thistle rennet. The unusual properties of each work together as if they were made for each other–and produce cheeses with a focus on the inherent flavors of the milk and juxtapositions of texture.
Sources
List of well-known Portuguese cheeses
Description of Serra de Estrela make process
Video of Azeitao make process (in Portuguese; turn on auto-translated subtitles)
Animal mobility in Chalcolithic Portugal (academic paper, PDF)
Images:
Cheeses of Southern Portugal in a Lisbon supermarket (top)
Copper Age cheese mold or strainer, Archaeological Museum, Lisbon (bottom)
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