Spain. Basque Country. Mondragón (Basque: Arrasate or Mondragoe), officially known as Arrasate / Mondragón, is a town and municipality in Gipuzkoa Province. Lana Cooperative. Cheese production. Idiazabal is a pressed cheese made from unpasteurized sheep milk, usually from Latxa and Carranzana sheep in the Basque Country. It has a somewhat smokey flavor, but is usually un-smoked. The cheese is handmade and covered in a hard, dark brown, inedible rind. It is aged for a few months and develops a nutty, buttery flavor, eaten fresh, often with quince jam. If aged longer, it becomes firm, dry and sharp and can be used for grating. The Basque Country (Euskadi, País Vasco, Pays Basque), officially the Basque Autonomous Community (Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa, Comunidad Autónoma Vasca, CAV) is an autonomous community in northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay, and Gipuzkoa. The Basque Country or Basque Autonomous Community was granted the status of nationality within Spain, attributed by the Spanish Constitution of 1978. The autonomous community is based on the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country, a foundational legal document providing the framework for the development of the Basque people on Spanish soil. 26.03.92 © 1992 Didier Ruef