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According to some estimates, there could be up to 2,000 varieties of cheese being churned all over the world – 2,000 types – and while that is probably music to the ears of turophiles out there, ranking the very best out of those is no walk in the dairy aisle.
That’s where the World’s Best Cheese Awards come in, which comprehensively rank the planet’s pongiest, crumbliest and tastiest cheese in their annual competition. The characteristics assessed include visuals, body and texture, aroma, flavour and mouthfeel, according to euronews.
This year, an un-brie-lievable 4,786 different cheeses from 47 countries were assessed by the awards’ panel of 240 judges. They selected 104 ‘super gold’ cheeses, which were then reassessed by a super jury to identify the best 14.
And claiming the crown as the world’s best cheese? It was Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado, a buttery sheep’s milk Portuguese cheese made by Quinto do Pomar in the Serra da Gardunha, which beat the likes of two Swiss cheeses that came in second and third place (Tea Fondada and Alpenhorn Mifroma).
Now, you might notice a distinct lack of cheddar, Wensleydale and stilton on the top 14 list. Why? Well, because 67 British cheesemakers were impacted by post-Brexit custom checks which meant their 252 cheeses missed out on a slice of the action.
‘Before Brexit, this wouldn’t have been a thing. That’s a fact,’ director at the Guild of Fine Food John Farrand told the Observer. Feta luck next time, Britain.
These are the world’s 14 very best cheeses
- Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado, Portugal
- Tea Fondada, Switzerland
- Alpenhorn Mifroma, Switzerland
- La Cava Barus García-Baquero, Spain
- Bayley Hazen Blue, USA
- Pecorino Bislacco al Rum e Tabacco, Italy
- Blugins, Italy
- Affineur Walo Creamy Lion Cheese from Thurgau, Switzerland
- Passionata, Brazil
- Snertingdal ysteri Godbiten, Norway
- Alte Hexe 9 Monate gereift, Switzerland
- Valleclaro, Spain
- Baldauf 1862 Meisterstück Alpkäse, Germany
- Tatie, Italy
You can have a look at last year’s ranking, which named a Norwegian cheese as the world’s very best, right here.
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