Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado. Have you heard of it? This soft and buttery sheep's milk cheese hails from Portugal, crafted by Quinto do Pomar in the Serra da Gardunha, right in the heart of the country. It has been crowned the best in the world.
The cheese claimed the top spot at this year's World Cheese Awards, held in Viseu, northern Portugal. It outperformed two Swiss cheeses (Tea Fondada and Alpenhorn Mifroma, which came in second and third place), as well as Spanish and American cheeses (La Cava Barus García-Baquero and Bayley Hazen Blue, which completed the Top 5).
The event, organized by the British-based Guild of Fine Food, saw a record 4,786 entries from 47 countries, making this year's edition the most significant yet. However, British cheesemakers faced setbacks due to post-Brexit customs checks, with up to 252 cheeses from 67 British makers potentially affected.
John Farrand, director at the Guild of Fine Food, noted that such delays would not have occurred before the UK left the EU. Judge James Grant, co-founder of the Real Cheese Project, highlighted the 'Brexit red tape,' calling the incident 'devastating.' Britain hasn't won since 2017 and had no cheeses in the top 14 this year.
The 4,786 cheeses were judged on four categories - visuals; body and texture; aroma; flavour and mouthfeel - and were evaluated by 240 judges from 40 countries.
Source link: https://www.euronews.com
