PARIS, March 4 — Despite a rich cheese heritage with some 1,500 varieties, France is not the world champion in the matter. A Swiss Gruyère cheese has won the gold medal at the World Championship Cheese Contest, which has just ended in the United States.

Roquefort? Reblochon? Brie? One might have thought that given the diversity of its cheese section, France would have an easy time of it at the World Championship Cheese Contest, organised every two years by an American association of producers based in Wisconsin. However, no French specialty is honoured on the podium this year at this very serious competition, which has been held since 1957.

The title of best cheese in the world was awarded to a Swiss Gruyère cheese, matured by the Gourmino company, based in the canton of Bern. And it’s not the first time that the company has been awarded this medal; it took the same award in 2020 and back in 2008.

In second place is another Swiss specialty that is honoured: Appenzeller. This pressed cheese, which is used in some fondue recipes, stands out for its full-bodied taste. The bronze medal is also headed to Europe, awarded for an Austrian cheese: Erzherzog Johann, a recipe based on raw milk matured for at least six months, and distinguished by its high fat content. 

For the results by cheese category, the French can be reassured to find some bastions of their culinary heritage, such as Roquefort, distinguished in the category of sheep’s milk blue cheese. In particular, the work of Rodolphe le Meunier, Meilleur ouvrier de France, who refines his cheeses in Touraine, was praised in this same category. — ETX Studio