On its website, the competition's organizers – Guild of Fine Food – announce that “a soft, spoonable sheep's milk cheese, made by a cheesemaker in Portugal, has been voted the best cheese on the planet at the 2024 World Cheese Awards”.
After 4,786 cheeses from 47 countries were assessed, Quinta do Pomar's buttery sheep's cheese received the highest score from 240 judges from 40 countries, including cheese experts such as cheese technologists and evaluators, as well as retailers and buyers, chefs and journalists.
“Made with raw sheep’s milk and vegetarian thistle rennet (known as cardo), the winning cheese is usually eaten by cutting off the top and scooping out its almost liquid paste with a spoon,” says the organization.
The final of the 'World Cheese Awards', which is being held for the 36th year, took place for the first time in Portugal, in the city of Viseu.
The director of the Guild of Fine Food, John Farrand, said that “Portuguese cheesemakers have done their country proud”. Quoted on his website, he added that the “world champion cheese is typical of the central region of Portugal, extraordinary for being made with cardoon instead of conventional rennet”.
The Municipality of Fundão, in the district of Castelo Branco, publicly congratulated Queijaria Quinta do Pomar, “for its extraordinary achievement in the 'World Cheese Awards 2024'”.
“This distinction is the recognition of the excellence of the endogenous products of the municipality of Fundão”, he concluded.
After 4,786 cheeses from 47 countries were assessed, Quinta do Pomar's buttery sheep's cheese received the highest score from 240 judges from 40 countries, including cheese experts such as cheese technologists and evaluators, as well as retailers and buyers, chefs and journalists.
“Made with raw sheep’s milk and vegetarian thistle rennet (known as cardo), the winning cheese is usually eaten by cutting off the top and scooping out its almost liquid paste with a spoon,” says the organization.
The final of the 'World Cheese Awards', which is being held for the 36th year, took place for the first time in Portugal, in the city of Viseu.
The director of the Guild of Fine Food, John Farrand, said that “Portuguese cheesemakers have done their country proud”. Quoted on his website, he added that the “world champion cheese is typical of the central region of Portugal, extraordinary for being made with cardoon instead of conventional rennet”.
The Municipality of Fundão, in the district of Castelo Branco, publicly congratulated Queijaria Quinta do Pomar, “for its extraordinary achievement in the 'World Cheese Awards 2024'”.
“This distinction is the recognition of the excellence of the endogenous products of the municipality of Fundão”, he concluded.