Get to know the different varieties of cheese that exist in the Canary Islands, appease the intense sun and heat with a good local wine or a craft beer, buy crafts from the Archipelago or learn about all the genetic heritage that exists in the Islands admiring its native breeds. All this offered its visitors the thirteenth Canary Islands Cheese Fair that was held this weekend in Pinolere.
“Despite the crisis, people continue to seek the quality of Canarian cheese, value our work and want to eat in the most natural way.” Melisa Farrais was smiling behind her counter at the Cheese Fair in Pinolere. He has been in charge of the Antonio y Juana Cheese Factory in Benijos for ten years, but before her, her parents did it for another two decades. He appreciates that despite the bad economic times, consumption, at least in his cheese factory, has not fallen sharply. “Of course, if before they bought a kilo and a half now they only take half a kilo, but we are getting by.” Something that has helped them to endure the difficult moments that the livestock sector has gone through in Canary Islands in the last year due to cost overruns. “It’s a big problem, if before we paid 3,000 for cattle feed, now it’s more than double,” he explains, and although they have had to raise the price of the cheese they make a little, “you can’t pass it on all because you don’t sell it.”
Definitely this year has not been easy for the island farmers. Not only has the price of animal feed skyrocketed, but they have had to face extra costs in energy and other inputs. For many, the only solution has been to sacrifice part of their animals to gain some liquidity. “We have kept them because we make the cheese ourselves but for many people it is complicated,” says Farrais.
For this reason, it values even more the celebration of fairs such as the one in Pinolere. “You meet people, you make yourself known, people from outside also come, you promote and that gives you the option to sell more,” she says.
Juan Carlos Santiuste, from Quesos Bolaños, holds the same opinion, for whom it is very important that this tradition not be lost. “We make our cheeses known and so this, which was an unknown world, is becoming less so and is even valued abroad and on the Peninsula.”
From your point of view, what distinguishes the cheeses of the Archipelago from the rest of the varieties is “without a doubt” their quality and ensures that those made with goat’s milk and an extra maturation are unbeatable, as they are demonstrating in numerous international competitions.
Those attending the fair were able to taste the different varieties that the producers were trying to promote. But there was also an opportunity to cool off with a glass of Canarian wine, try different craft beers or buy craft items.. Among the public, there were many families who came with the youngest members of the household so that they could experience first-hand not only the flavors of the Canary Islands but also a very important part of their cultural heritage, their native breeds. The minors were able to participate in a children’s milking workshop, in which they were also able to taste the recently milked goat’s milk and admire specimens of 29 unique species in the world.
Pedro Miranda Mesa is responsible for the exhibition that could be seen this weekend in Pinolere. “We started eleven years ago and today is the fair that has the greatest representativeness, we have even brought specimens of Canary bees,” he explains. Among the animals that could be admired were the Canarian cow and the palm tree, the palm sheep, the Majorero donkey and even a specimen of the Canary camel. And of course several breeds of dogs such as the La Palma buzzard, the wolf from El Hierro or the presa canario. “All of them are Canarian heritage and we want children to see them and get to know them so they don’t get lost because they are part of our culture,” he points out.
Miranda Mesa’s fondness for Canary breeds comes from his childhood. “I am from La Corujera and in my house we have always had animals,” she says. In his opinion, the canaries should appreciate more “what we have here because it is an incredible genetic heritage”. He is also a breeder of presa canario and attends competitions all over the world. “I have my company, this is a hobby for me and it costs me a lot of work and money”, he explains and assures that the breeders “wear the name of the Canary Islands wherever we go, we do a free promotion” and regrets that many times they come across difficulties to travel from the Archipelago with their animals to the different competitions.
canary dam
Although this Sunday the contest was very close to home. The Pinolere fair hosted the X Presa Canario Monographic Contest in which 121 specimens from TenerifeGran Canaria, Lanzarote or La Palma. José Manuel López, president of the Spanish Presa Canario Club, indicates that what is analyzed in this type of contest is the morphology of the animals that must be adapted as much as possible to the breed standard, which was defined in 1989. Height, color, position, everything is looked at with a magnifying glass. Even the gait since they must be elegant, with a nice trot and cover a lot of space in their movements.
López recalls that this autochthonous breed has been declared a Cultural Heritage of the Canary Islands. “Many people do not give it the value it has, but we are among the ten most leading breeds worldwide.” The breeders’ love for these dogs extends to the entire Archipelago and also transcends borders. «We calculate that 30% of the cattle herds of the Canarian presa are outside of Spain» and there are copies in places as far away as the United States, the Netherlands or Russia.
Its great virtue and the reason why it spread outside the Canary Islands is that “it is a physically imposing dog and it is an excellent dog to keep”. In the past it was used to take care of cattle but now its role is more linked to guarding. “He is also a balanced dog, he is not aggressive and they are very affectionate with his family,” he points out.
