The annual World Cheese Awards competition recently concluded with the Prairie Farms Caves of Faribault Division earning impressive accolades for its cheeses, including a silver award for Grotto 222TM Natural Rinded Gouda and a bronze for AmaGorg® Gorgonzola.
“We are honored to be a member of such a prestigious group and equally proud of our team for their dedication to making award-winning cheese,” said Mike Christensen, Vice President of Sales. “I’m also proud of our dairy farmers for providing the highest quality milk that goes into these products.”
The World Cheese Awards is an esteemed cheese-judging competition that brings together cheesemakers, retailers, buyers, and food commentators from around the world. This year’s contest, held in Viseu, Portugal, featured over 4,700 cheeses from more than 40 countries. The big finishes for Caves of Faribault cheeses are notable considering the record number of entries for the latest contest, a press release explained. Expert cheese judges from around the world made their top picks after evaluating products on appearance, aroma, texture, mouthfeel, and flavor.
Grotto 222 Natural Rinded Gouda is one of the newest affinage cheese offerings from Caves of Faribault. It is cured next to Blue cheeses in underground caves to achieve its unique flavor. Spores from the Blue cheeses float to the Gouda, resulting in a natural rind forming on the outside. The cheese is then flipped multiple times a week and hand-rubbed. The process spreads a “magical forest” of mold spores even further to create uniform coverage and an even rind. After establishing the rind, the Gouda is moved to a separate cave where it continues aging until the perfect flavor and texture are achieved.
AmaGorg Gorgonzola is hand-made and carefully aged 90 days in the historic sandstone cheese caves of Faribault, Minnesota. Cave aging provides an ideal environment for the development of blue veining in the cheese and contributes to its rich, clean, natural flavor.
The recent wins for Caves of Faribault cheeses at the World Cheese Awards are not the first. Jeffs’ Select Gouda, now retired, received a bronze award at the 2019 competition.
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