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Bored of the usual lump of cheddar? You could do a lot worse than swapping it out with a piece of Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado, a soft, raw ewes’ milk cheese that was on Friday named 2024’s winner at an annual contest to find the world’s best cheese.
This year’s World Cheese Awards — the largest since its inception in 1988 — saw 4,786 cheeses from 47 countries assembled in the Portuguese city of Viseu to face the discerning scrutiny of 240 experts assembled from across the world.
The cheese, produced by the tiny 10-employee Quinta do Pomar in Soalheira, Portugal, scored highest out of 14 finalists that included no fewer than five Swiss cheeses, plus entries from Brazil, the United States, Norway, Italy, Germany and Spain.
Made with vegetarian rennet created from thistles, the winner is described as a gooey, glossy, buttery cheese with a herby bitterness that’s typically served by slicing off the top and spooning out the center.
“It’s quite balanced … voluptuous,” Portuguese cheese exporter Manuel Maia, one of the international panel of jurors, said. “It is a really sublime match of protein and fat. It’s really a fantastic cheese.”
The judging is a spectacle in itself. Following a performance by local drummers, teams of experts were assigned to 104 tables in the main hall at Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu arena, each one groaning with around 40 cheeses of all shapes, colors, sizes, ages and textures.
Gathering thousands of cheeses at room temperature under one roof inevitably produces an intense aroma. “It’s very punchy,” is how John Farrand, managing director of The Guild of Fine Food, the contest’s UK-based organizer, described the atmosphere at the event.
Cheese odyssey
Many of the cheeses endured an odyssey to make it to the judging tables. To enable small producers to enter their wares, 20 collection points were established around the world in countries including India, Australia, Brazil, Colombia and Ukraine.
Inevitably, some cheeses travel better than others. Like this year, recent contest editions — notably when it was held in Spain in 2021 and Norway in 2023 — saw local products crowned as the winner. Farrand said there might be a home advantage but stresses that the entries are judged blind. Usually, locals don’t win.
“Maybe it’s because the cheese is in its zone and has that terroir that makes the wine you buy on holiday taste much nicer when you’re there,” he told CNN. “But I’d like to make it clear that there are many years when a cheese from elsewhere has won.”
On Friday, teams of two or three judges on each of the tables were assessing every entry on appearance, feel, smell, taste and texture in the mouth. Each team selected four finalists in bronze, silver, gold and super gold categories — the latter were entered into the final cheese taste-off to decide 2024’s winner.
Awards are also made for the best cheeses by country of origin and by style of cheese
Last year, the contest was won by Nidelven Blå, a creamy semi-solid blue old, cows’ milk cheese made by the Gangstad Gårdsysteri creamery in Norway. In 2022, a Swiss Gruyère took the top prize.
While there are other international competitions, the World Cheese Awards claims to be the largest of its kind, attracting entries from large and small producers from across the planet. While the event is typically held in a different European country each year, the Guild of Fine Food says it hopes to stage it further afield at some point.
“It’s a celebration of the world cheese community,” said Farron. “Any award is important, especially for small producers, as the world becomes an increasingly difficult place to move a cheese around.
“From the simplest point of view, it’s a benchmark across the planet, across 47 countries. And if you’re a cheese maker, in a valley somewhere, with 12 goats, to get that seal of approval, that pat on the back, is great. And, of course, it will help them sell their cheese and stay in business.”