The cheese took its name from the town of Idiazabal, where the shepherds sold their production when they returned from grazing at high altitude, just before the beginning of winter. Idiazabal has hardly undergone any changes since the earliest times of its production. An important part of these cheeses are smoked with hawthorn, beech or birch wood.

The raw milk used to make the cheeses comes from their own herds, with sheep of the native Latxa and Karrantzana breeds. Due to their breed characteristics and their natural diet, they produce excellent quality milk, from the transformation of which an extraordinary cheese is obtained.

It has intense lactic aromas with hints of animal and smoky notes in the smoke. The texture is firm, crumbly and floury. Lactic flavour, slightly saline and slightly spicy.