Hungarian Cheesemakers Win 19 Medals at World Cheese Awards

This year, 5,244 cheeses from 46 countries competed at the World Cheese Awards for the title of world’s best. The prestigious event, held in Bern, Switzerland, on November 15, was a huge success for Hungary, with domestic cheese makers winning 19 medals. 

Every year, the Guild of Fine Food in the United Kingdom recruits cheese experts from all over the world to evaluate thousands of cheeses and select the world champion. This year, 265 judges worked in teams of two or three and blind tasted the 5,244 samples submitted, according to Food&Wine magazine.

The judges examine the rind/crust of the cheese and, in general, its appearance, color, texture, consistency, and above all, its taste. Based on this, Gruyère AOP Vorderfultigen Spezial was chosen as the cheese of the year, which was matured for 18 months by the Bergkäserei Vorderfultigen cheese factory in Hinterfultigen, Switzerland.

Domestic cheese makers won a total of 19 medals in the competition. Among the gold medal-winning cheeses is a cow’s milk cheese from the Bükk Mountains, aged for six months and produced in Mónosbél (northern Hungary), a village with a population of only 400, by Tamás Sándor, owner of Bükki Sajtmanufaktúra. Tamás Sándor’s adventurous life took him from Transylvania to Switzerland and then to the small village of Bükk. He worked as a young chef in a French-Swiss restaurant, then spent several years presenting Hungarian cuisine in various cantons of Switzerland, and subsequently as a sous chef in a hotel in northern Italy. His experiences with cheese gastronomy abroad greatly contributed to his career change, but when asked why he ultimately decided to become a cheese maker, he simply replied that it was meant to be. He has twice been awarded the title of Cheese Maker of the Year in Hungary.

Via vg.hu, Food&Wine magazine; Featured photo: Pexels

The post Hungarian Cheesemakers Win 19 Medals at World Cheese Awards appeared first on Hungary Today.

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