(l-r) Alfredo Alberto, Pilar Merino and Guillermo Díaz Guerra swapping notes on the entries

02.07.2008 - Of the 13 prizes awarded, six went to Fuerteventura brands: Maxorata, Tofio, La Suerte del Ángel, Julían Díaz of Arquema S.L. for a D.O.P. Majorero cheese (best of show and best ma­tured goat’s cheese from raw milk) and La Gambuesa.  Lanzarote’s Finca de Uga re­ceived three of the remain­ing prizes (best pasteurised milk semi-matured cheese, best mixed raw milk ma­tured cheese and the conso­lation prize) and from Gran Canaria, Queso Las Mesas took two awards (best mixed raw milk, semi matured cheese and best mixed ren­net cheese) and Quesos El Cortijo de Calderos took the prize for the best vegetable rennet cheese.

Agrocanarias anounnced the winning cheeses in the Canary Islands

Disappointingly there were no prizes for Tenerife or La Palma but the hosts were thrilled when Gomera’s La Cabezada took the prize for making the best semi-cured cheese from raw milk.  Cabildo chief Casimiro Curbelo pointed out that the prize was of great im­portance to island cheese producers,”without a doubt, this award will be an impor­tant incentive for everyone involved in the production and marketing of the is­land’s specialities.  We are not just talking about pro­ducing cheese, but a very good almogrote using the cheese.”

Almogrote is the local delicacy made from finely grated hard cheese, oil, gar­lic and red peppers, used as an accompaniment or starter. Everybody’s recipe varies slightly. Almogrote ranges from relatively bland to extremely spicy. Curbelo, in agrarian frame of mind, continued, “the Cabildo has seeded the ideas and our primary sector is now begin­ning to gather the harvest.”  He went on to recall that the Cabildo was responsible for forming the Asociación Insular de Ganaderos, (island livestock keepers associa­tion,) which began to func­tion a few months ago.

The Cabildo’s other good works, according to Curbelo, have been the  “culmination of the island dairy installa­tion and the setting up of a large scale storage facility for feedstuffs, to help reduce transport costs...These are only a few of the many ini­tiatives set up by the island council,” he said. “We have clearly come out in favour of primary sector enterprise.”

During the event,  with a somewhat more regional outlook, Merino underlined the advances that are being made in the Canarian cheese sector as a whole, with three guaranteed quality D.O. regions now registered in the Islands, Majorero, Palmero and Flor de Guía.

Canarian residents eat nine kilos of cheese per year, well over the 2.2 kilo aver­age for the whole of Spain.  The director of the Canarian institute for food and agri­cultural quality, Guillermo Díaz Guerra and the Director general of livestock were also present.

Gallery: Best Canarian cheeses

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