Canary Islands get 41 awards at the World Cheese Awards 2021 competition
The XXIII edition of the World Cheese Awards, held in Oviedo, has brought to the Canary Islands 41 awards for different types of cheeses, 18 more than in the previous edition, held in 2019. The winning samples have competed against another 4,038 that have come from 45 countries around the world and they have been evaluated by a jury made up of more than 250 people.
Based on the winners of the contest, three Canarian kinds of cheese have been declared winners in the Gran Oro category: Selectum cured with paprika from Fuerteventura, the goat cheese cured with oregano Montesdeoca from Tenerife and the 7 Lagos cured cheese from Lanzarote. In the Gold section, it is Gran Canaria that registers a title with La Gloria goat cheese.
The Silver medals went to 15 cheeses from the Canary Islands: the cured Volcania cow and goat (Vega de San Mateo), the Volcania cured goat (Vega de San Mateo), the semi-cured cow and goat spread with paprika from Quesos San Mateo (Vega de San Mateo), the cured goat and sheep of Quesos Naroy (Tejeda), the fresh goat of San Mateo (Vega de San Mateo), the Flor de Valsequillo (Valsequillo), Era del Cardón cured goat (Agüimes), Cueva Sosa cured sheep and goat (Gáldar), PDO Media Flor de Guía de Cortijo de Caideros (Gáldar), Pajonales Bolaños hard goat cheese (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), the Pajonales Bolaños cured (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), the Bodega Oveja de Finca de Uga (Arrecife) and the tender natural smoked cheese Caletón (Tinajo).
The Bronze medals went to 22 types of cheese in the archipelago: the San Mateo cured goat cheese (Vega de San Mateo), the Madrekagua de Valleseco semi-cured with paprika (Valleseco), the Bodega Ovejita de Finca de Uga (Arrecife) , the Madre Vieja mixture of rennet (Moya), the Galician semi-cured with paprika (Telde), La Gloria cured goat spread with paprika (San Bartolomé de Tirajana), the Artesanal Guedes cured with raw sheep and goat milk, Bolaños Fontanales cured (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), Bolaños red almogrote (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), Boñalos Fogagesto cured (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), Maxorata semi-cured with PDO paprika, Tofio cured with paprika, semi-cured and Quesería Benijos cured from the Sociedad Cooperativa del Campo la Candelaria (La Orotava), goat and cured cow cheeses, the smoked semi-cured and the sheep cured with Gofio from the Montesdeoca Cheese Factory (Adeje), the soft smoked herreño cheese and the natural semi-cured from SCL Ganaderos El Hierro and the semi-cured Jameo and the El Faro semi-cured goat cheese spread in paprika (Teguise) .
The regional head of Agriculture, Alicia Vanoostende, has congratulated all the winners and the participants in the competition, as this is "a unique opportunity for Canarian products to be known beyond the borders of the Archipelago".
