World's best cheese is Spanish, too

HOME-PRODUCED foodstuffs from Spain appear to be on a roll just lately – hot on the heels of a Spanish olive oil being named number one on earth, the country can now take credit for churning out the planet's top cheese.

And like the world's best extra-virgin olive oil, the first-prize winner in the 2021 World Cheese Awards is from the province of Jaén, in Andalucía.

Often referred to as 'the cheesy Oscars', producers who gain these prestigious awards instantly shoot to global fame and can almost name their price when selling the top pick.

That said, the winners in 2019, also Spanish, were being retailed for just €3 in Mercadona and Lidl, so they do not always have to break the bank.

This year's was one of 16 to reach the final of a contest that featured over 4,000 varieties of cheese from 48 countries on all five inhabited continents.

A goat's cheese developed by the dairy firm Quesos & Besos – which literally translates as 'cheeses and kisses' – based in Guarromán, Jaén province, is called Olavidia and appealed to the tastebuds of all 250 judges.

The 2021 World Cheese Awards took place in Oviedo (Asturias), and each cheese entered was passed around 85 tables where experts scrutinised their shape, scent, texture, feel, flavour, complexity of their creation process, and their presentation and packaging design.

Spain is rarely disappointed when global cheese judges pass their verdicts – three brands reached the top 15, coming sixth, 11th and 14th, in 2018, and the 2012 winner, Llanos de la Dehesa, made in Albacete, went on to see off all the opposition at the 2015 World Cheese Championship contest in Wisconsin, USA.