Bon appetit! The world's best cheese has been revealed; Indian brand finds a sweet spot in top 4 too! (2024)
Bon appetit! Cheese lovers of the world have a reason to rejoice: The 2023 world cheese champion has been revealed.
Norwegian blue cheese Nidelven Blå has been crowned the best cheese in the world for the year 2023. The crowning took place in a competition at the 35th World Cheese Awards, held at the Trondheim Spektrum indoor arena in Norway.
The Norwegian cheese - produced by Gangstad Gårdsysteri - trumped 4,502 cheesy contenders, including 293 from Norway itself, from around the world to gain the top spot in the world’s largest global cheese event. Friday morning saw 264 leading cheese experts sharing their thoughts at the Trondheim Spektrum indoor arena.
The World Cheese Awards are organised by the Guild of Fine Food. Running for 35 years, the event brings together cheesemakers, retailers, buyers and food writers from across the world to judge over 4,000 types of cheese from over 40 countries.
The winner was chosen in front of a live audience by "super jury," including the Ambassador of Food Culture at Whole Foods Market in the US, after 16 made it to the last round.
"We’re a small dairy farm based just two hours from here, so this happening on our home turf means a lot, and having all of the crew from the dairy here adds an extra spark to it," Maren Gangstadt, general manager of Gangstadt Gårdsysteri, said in a statement, the Guild of Fine Food reported.
Nidelven Blå is a semi-solid, blue mold cheese made with pasteurized cows’ milk. Judges at the event called it "sort of short creaminess, like real dense fudginess," and "the perfect blue cheese."
Belgium's Baliehof Houtlandse Asche Kaas, a hard, unpasteurised cows’ milk cheese, stood second, while Swiss cheese Eberle Würzig Seit 5 Generationen came third.
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There's good news for India too! Eleftheria Brunost, a cheese from India, claimed the fourth spot in the list.
The website describes Brunost as a "Norwegian style Whey Cheese that tastes like a salted caramel milk fudge with brilliant lingering toffee notes." This Mumbai-based brand has won the Super Gold in this year's championship. In the past two editions it has won the Silver.
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You can buy a slab of this award-winning cheese for a price of Rs 400.
Incidentally, France and the UK which both have high consumption, did not have any entries in the top 10.
'whey cheese'; Danish: myseost; Swedish: mesost; Finnish: mesjuusto; Icelandic: mysuostur/mysingur), a family of soft cheese-related foods made with whey, milk, and/or cream. The characteristic brown color and sweet taste result from milk sugars being caramelized after boiling.
, a cheese from India, claimed the fourth spot in the list. The website describes Brunost as a "Norwegian style Whey Cheese that tastes like a salted caramel milk fudge with brilliant lingering toffee notes." This Mumbai-based brand has won the Super Gold in this year's championship.
The Brunost which secured the 4th position in 'Best Cheeses In The World' is a Norwegian Style Whey Cheese and is sold for ₹400 for 150 grams at Eleftheria.
The 2023 world cheese champion has been revealed. Winning cheesemakers from Gangstad Gårdsysteri, husband and wife Ole and Maren Gangstad, with their champion cheese Nidelven Blå.
With a score of 98.976, the 2024 World Champion was a cheese named Hornbacher, made by Michael Spycher from Mountain Dairy Fritzenhaus, based in Switzerland.
Favorite? Considered to be among the world's top quality cheeses, Parmigiano Reggiano is made with raw, semi-skimmed milk from cows grazing on fresh grass and hay. It has a hard, gritty texture and its flavors range from nutty to robust and slightly piquant, depending on how long the cheese had matured.
An iconic Italian food, Parmigiano Reggiano2 is produced in a well-defined area of northern Italy – the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, and Modena and Bologna (on the left bank of the Reno River) and Mantova (on the right bank of the Po River).
1. Pule Cheese - $600 Per Pound. Pule cheese is the most expensive cheese in the world because it is produced exclusively at Serbia's Zasavica Special Nature Reserve. This rare cheese is made from the milk of Balkan donkeys which are endangered and native to Serbia and Montenegro.
The countries least affected by cheese consumption also have their ranking. We find China (0.1 kg per person), Mongolia (0.3 kg per person) and Zimbabwe (0.6 kg per person). Afterwards, we can also ask ourselves the question: do Scandinavians eat quality cheese? Because there is cheese and cheese, huh...
It cost a lot of cheddar. Don't drizzle this on a Ritz Cracker: A Spanish Cabrales blue cheese has broken the record for most expensive cheese ever, after getting auctioned off for over $32,000 at a local cheese festival.
That honor goes to pule cheese (or magareći sir), a rare cheese produced in Zasavica Donkey Reserve in west central Serbia. The price? Around $600 a pound. To put this in perspective, a pound of Parmigiano Reggiano costs $15 to $25 per pound and up, depending on the producer and how many months the cheese is aged.
Soft cheeses Opened soft cheeses like Brie, goat's cheese, mozzarella and feta are more perishable and typically last for a week to a few weeks in the refrigerator. Opened fresh cheeses like ricotta and cottage cheese have an even shorter shelf life and are best consumed within a week or two of opening.
Parmesan. If you're looking for one sturdy cheese that will last in your fridge for as long as you need it, go with Parm. Thanks to a long aging process and higher salt content, your Parmesan will be just fine for just about as long as you need it. Even if it dries out a bit, it will still be "grate" over pasta.
The takeaway. Cheese can be a staple in a well-rounded diet that supports longevity—even more so if you prioritize that from grass-fed goats and sheep, versus conventionally fed cows.
Pule cheese is the most expensive cheese in the world because it is produced exclusively at Serbia's Zasavica Special Nature Reserve. This rare cheese is made from the milk of Balkan donkeys which are endangered and native to Serbia and Montenegro.
Europe. We couldn't start the list of the world's top cheeses anywhere other than Europe! As it is believed that Europe was the first place where cheese appeared, and where the most number of varieties have been created since, it's no wonder they know their way around some delicious cheesy creations!
Introduction: My name is Eusebia Nader, I am a encouraging, brainy, lively, nice, famous, healthy, clever person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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