The 2024 World’s Best Cheese award goes to the piece of soft, raw ewes’ milk cheese, Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado.
According to CNN, after the largest cheese inspection in the world since 1988, the cheese experts announced the winner of the 2024 World Cheese Awards on Friday, November 15, 2024.
During the contest, 240 experts from all around the world saw 4,786 cheeses from 47 different countries under one roof in the Portuguese city of Viseu.
Portugal’s Quinta do Pomar wins the top cheese award after beating 14 finalists from around the world, including Switzerland, Brazil, the United States, Norway, Italy, Germany, and Spain.
Portuguese cheese exporter Manuel Maia, who was part of the international panel of jurors, said, “It’s quite balanced… voluptuous. It is a really sublime match of protein and fat. It’s really a fantastic cheese.”
Quinta do Pomar is made with vegetarian thistle rennet and is gooey but looks buttery, and shiny. It has a slightly bitter, herbal flavor, typically by slicing off the top and scooping out the center.
Furthermore, last year Norway’s Nidelven Blå, a creamy semi-solid blue old, and cows’ milk cheese made by the Gangstad Gårdsysteri creamery won the contest, while in 2022 Swiss Gruyère won the award.
