What cheese is used in flaó de Menorca?

Flaó de Menorca is made with tender Maó cheese.

This Menorcan pastry is distinct from other flaó varieties found across Spain’s eastern regions and the Balearic Islands. Its basic dough combines tender Maó cheese with wheat flour, olive oil and yeast; recipes may also include egg and a little lard.

Maó cheese, also called Mahón or Mahón-Menorca, is a cow’s-milk cheese named for the port town of Maó on Menorca. It can range from soft to hard depending on aging, but the Menorcan flaó traditionally uses the fresh, tender style rather than a strongly aged cheese.

The name flaó can cause confusion because Ibiza’s version uses sheep or goat curd, while flaons from Morella use local cottage cheese and almonds. Menorca’s version is also unusual because the cheese is mixed into the pastry rather than necessarily enclosed as a separate filling.