La Oveja Negra: a different manchego

Most producers cloak manchego with a breathable polymer that inhibits mold and slows moisture loss.

On their farm in the province of Cuenca, the Parra brothers are helping revive a nearly extinct black-skinned variant of the Manchega breed, which is typically white.

[...] thanks to the efforts of their farm and others, the numbers have climbed from fewer than 1,000 to an estimated 10,000 black sheep (the "oveja negra" of the cheese's name).

The wheels are about 5 months old by the time they reach Bay Area cheese counters, and they may have some crunchy protein crystals in the paste.

Bay Area merchants carrying La Oveja Negra manchego include 24th Street Cheese, Good Life Grocery, Rainbow Grocery and Real Foods Fillmore in San Francisco; Berkeley Bowl; El Cerrito Natural Grocery Annex; Oliver's Markets in the North Bay; and Oxbow Cheese Merchant in Napa.