SAN SEBASTIAN DE LA GOMERA, June 20 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Hotel Jardín Tecina, in the municipality of Alajeró (La Gomera), hosted this Tuesday morning the presentation of the Official Agrocanarias Cheese Contest 2023 organized by the Canarian Institute of Agrifood Quality (ICCA), attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands.
Thus, during this Tuesday and tomorrow Wednesday, the previous and final phase of an event will be held in which a total of 165 samples corresponding to 56 cheese factories on the islands have participated.
This regional contest had 5 samples and 2 cheese factories from El Hierro; 28 samples and 9 cheese factories from Fuerteventura; 31 samples and 14 cheese factories from Gran Canaria; 9 samples and 4 cheese factories from La Gomera; 17 samples and 4 cheese factories from Lanzarote; 36 samples and 12 cheese factories from Tenerife; and 39 samples from 11 cheese factories on La Palma.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by the director of ICCA, Basilio Pérez, who highlighted the importance of a “highly professionalized cheese sector that every year produces a higher quality, competitive product with a wide projection in the national and international market” .
The jury is made up of a committee of experts of 24 tasters made up of technicians, those responsible for the restoration and hospitality of the Canary Islands (HORECA), and gastronomic journalists, among others, reports the Ministry in a note.
Finalists will be eligible for three medals: Great Gold Medal, Gold Medal and Silver Medal. In addition, six special distinctions will also be awarded to the ‘Best Cheese of the Canary Islands 2023’; ‘Best Organic Cheese of the Canary Islands 2023’; ‘Best Limited Production Cheese of the Canary Islands 2023’; ‘Best image and presentation’; ‘Best Popular Cheese of the Canary Islands 2023’ and the distinction ‘Children’s Jury 2023’.
The ICCA director highlighted the importance of an event that “contributes to the promotion and dissemination of a product linked to the islands and to the development of the primary sector itself.”
Along these lines, he stressed that ‘Agrocanarias’ “helps producers to position themselves in the market and facilitates the opening of new commercial channels.”
The contest is attended by cheeses made with raw milk and pasteurized milk and within these two modalities, the cheeses compete according to their degree of maturation as tender, semi-cured, cured, old and aged.
In total, four categories are established according to the type of milk used in the preparation: goat, cow, sheep and mixed milk.
