Mel i mató
Fresh unsalted curd cheese (mató) under a drizzle of honey — the simplest and most Catalan of desserts, sometimes with a scatter of walnuts.
Mel i mató is Catalan dessert stripped to essentials: a mound of mató, a fresh, soft, unsalted curd cheese, with honey poured over it and, if you like, a few walnuts. It is old — a sweet the Montserrat monastery is long associated with — and it survives on tables today precisely because it is so plain and good: milky cheese, floral honey, nothing else.
How it's served
Cold, as a light dessert: mató mounded on a plate with honey drizzled over, walnuts optional.
- Origin
- Catalonia
- Etymology
- 'Honey and mató' — mel is honey and mató is the fresh curd cheese.
Frequently asked
What is mató?
A fresh, soft, unsalted Catalan curd cheese, mild and milky — closer to a firm ricotta than to an aged cheese. On its own it is barely sweet, which is why the honey matters.
What does mel i mató taste like?
Gentle and clean: the cool, milky cheese against the floral sweetness of the honey, with the crunch of walnuts if they are added. It is a quiet, restorative dessert.