The cheese gets its name from an area in northern Gran Canaria called Santa María de Guía, where the cheese is made, and ‘flor’ from the fact that juice from the flowerheads of a species of cardoon and globe artichoke are used to curdle the milk.

The cheese is made only in the neighbouring municipalities of Santa María de Guía, Moya and Gáldar and is seasonal in production only being manufactured between January and July.

[1] The milk is provided by sheep which are kept on open terrain, free to move to new pastures within the designated geographical area.

[2] The curdling medium may be vegetable or animal depending on the type of cheese being made.

For Flor cheese, the vegetable rennet (liquid extract of the cardoon) is added when the milk has been heated to between 28 °C and 35 °C and maintained for 60 to 90 minutes.

For Half-Flor cheese the curdling agent must be 50% cardoon juice and 50% another vegetable or authorized rennet.

[2] The curd is then cut to the size of between rice grains and chickpeas with the typical lyres.

The moulds for Flor de guía cheese have marks on their interiors to impart the geometric shape of a flower on the rind.