It is made by hand by boiling the milk and coagulating it with a vegetable element such as the thistle flower (Cynara cardunculus), lemon juice or an animal element (rennet). The resulting product is filtered through a cloth in wicker or cane containers. A white, slightly sweet pasty mass is thus obtained due to the effect of the concentration of lactose in the milk.
Industrial manufacturing uses the same physical-chemical principle but pasteurized milk and large-capacity stainless steel tanks are used.
Mató is consumed as a dessert. It can be sprinkled with sugar, although the most traditional way is the one that uses honey to sweeten it. It is also used in some preparations such as cottage cheese cake (Greixonera de Brossat), as well as the preparation of a cake such as coca de brossat (coc de brossat).
