From farm to fork
Vale da Estrela. Credit: Inês Coutinho
Global cheese makers, retailers, buyers and food commentators collected in Viseu, central Portugal to judge 4,786 cheeses from 47 countries. Inês Coutinho reports
Cheese making has been an ongoing craft in central Portugal for hundreds of years, and the oldest protected designation of origin (PDO) cheese is Serra da Estrela. “Serra da Estrela is the oldest cheese registered in our country. The first examples are from the thirteenth century, during the reign of King Dinis, who established the first cheese factory in Celorico da Beira,” says Pedro Arrais, manager at Vale da Estrela.
At Vale da Estrela, a small family-owned cheese factory in Mangualde, central Portugal, centuries-old manufacturing is kept alive. This introduction to the company was given in a room with views of the mountains, where Bordaleira sheep, a shepherd, and a Serra da Estrela dog completed the scene, a classic daily sight for these cheese makers.
Vale da Estrela. Credit: Inês Coutinho
Jorge Coelho, a former Portuguese government minister, decided to invest in his hometown, Mangualde, and revive the tradition begun by his grandfather. “Until eight years ago, there were no PDO-certified cheese factories in the region, and Vale da Estrela became the first,” Arrais explains.
Cheese production is an ancient practice that dates back to the times of Roman occupation and has evolved over the centuries, incorporating local techniques and traditions. Today, to produce a PDO cheese, an annual evaluation takes place where each cheese is submitted to a specialist panel and has to score at least 15 points to renew its PDO certification. “This year, our score was 18.3 points,” Arrais comments.
Sustainability
When Vale da Estrela was being established, the region faced a decline in the number of shepherds and the availability of milk. “A strategic operation was put into place with a local dairy cooperative to support 28 local shepherds and 50 families, as we like to say,” Arrais notes. From milk quality control to the installation of solar panels and technological improvements, the company is committed to support the shepherd and guarantee the preservation of this heritage.
With the region increasingly at risk of drought due to climate change, and a devastating fire in 2022, which destroyed 25 per cent of Serra da Estrela’s grazing land, the company has prioritised educating future generations. This includes school visits, international internship programmes, and primary school field trips. “We guarantee we’re giving to the community an identity and a guarantee that we won’t lose this tradition,” Arrais says.
Michelle Bustler, co-founder of New York City-based importer Forever Cheese, reminds us, “We have to let people see that the people in dairy farming are not stupid and who have nothing else to do – they’re intelligent. Some of them are veterinarians and engineers. They have studied, and they chose to do this.”
“One farmer that I talk to, she puts on her makeup and her pearls, and she goes to milk her sheep. She’s the president of a women’s association and she has an app that does ecographs of her sheep to know at what point they’re at. I know another farmer who has written an app to track how much the animal eats in the field, so that he can answer the questions that the EU requires,” she adds.
However, with fewer young people wanting to take on the hard work of animal husbandry, dairy farming and cheese making traditions are in danger.
Portuguese winner
That being said, Portugal came out on top at the World Cheese Awards, as the Portuguese Queijo de Ovelha Amenteigado, by Quinta do Pomar, a soft ewes’ milk cheese, was selected as The World Cheese Awards 2024’s top cheese. The city of Viseu welcomed 240 industry experts, including cheese mongers, wholesalers, writers, journalists and producers, from all corners of the world, to be part of the 36th and largest edition of the event since its beginning in 1988.
The cheese is produced in Serra da Gardunha in Portugal and is a marker for the Portuguese culture, as super jury Manuel Maia described it. “This cheese is an icon, it’s like our Eiffel Tower. It is a really sublime match of protein and fat. It’s really a fantastic cheese.”
World Cheese Awards. Credit: Inês Coutinho
Judges were split into teams of two and three through the 104 tables at the main hall in Pavilhão Multiusos de Viseu arena, where they had three hours to evaluate 46 cheeses according to their aroma, texture, mouthfeel, flavour and visuals. In the first round, each team had to choose a “Super Gold” cheese, which was submitted to a second evaluation by the Super Jury to produce the winner of the World Cheese Awards.
Despite the odds in favour of Switzerland – with five cheeses making it to the final – and with entries from Brazil, the US, Norway, Italy, Germany and Spain, the Queijo de Ovelha did its country proud.
Sonia Marroyo, a Spanish cheese producer based in Portugal, comments, “This is a very emotional win for us, and the creation of this cheese came from a lot of team work and dedication.”
Japanese tradition
Halfway across the globe, Japan’s tradition of craftmanship is being proved once more in the field of cheese. It is a country not usually associated with cheese production, but one with a diverse range of different cheeses, as was seen with the Super Gold award for the Setana cheese at the World Cheese Awards.
The milk used in this unique cheese comes from “cows raised on hills overlooking the sea, where they are mainly grazed in a natural way and Brown Swiss and Jersey breeds are carefully nurtured. From the milk of these organic grass-fed cows, cheese is carefully made in a cheese factory that is probably the closest to the sea in the world” explained The Guild of Fine Food.
Japanese cheese is shaped not only by the seasonal changes in climate but also by the meticulous craftmanship of its artisans. The Japanese Cheese Professional Association described it as “Kirei (exquisite)”.
Adapting tradition in Ukraine
Whilst some countries pursue every effort to preserve tradition, Ukraine is fighting in the face of adversity to “adapt, rather than complaining” as Daria Chernova, content manager at ProCheese, a community for cheese connoisseurs, explains.
“More than 300 farms have been bombed, more than 40 million hectares mined and it’s becoming harder for animals to graze” Chernova notes.
Despite initiatives from the Ukrainian government to support cheese makers, challenges persist. “The price of milk has increased this year by 20 per cent. We’re trying to adapt, rather than complain because you still have to keep going, you still have to produce it even if it’s less volume,” she adds.
Events like the World Cheese Awards, where Ukrainian cheeses have been awarded since 2022 offer a glimmer of hope. “Those events are where you have some hope your cheese is doing well, that you’re on the right path,” as she explains.
Next year, the World Cheese Awards will be held in Bern, Switzerland in November 2025.
