In an instance that every year in the national cheese sector generates a lot of expectation and has a high value – proof of this is that Luis Lacalle Pou, the President of the Republic, participated in the award ceremony – two cheeses obtained an unprecedented prize, called “ super gold”.
This distinction was awarded by the organization – in charge of the East Cologne Economic Development Agency (ADE) – to a Colonia O’Brien brand cheese (from Ecilda Paullier) and a Narbona brand Camembert cheese (from Carmelo).
From the ADE – chaired by Martín Álvarez – it was explained to The Observer that in the 18th Cheese Contest of Uruguay, an instance called “Dairy Technician Professor Reynaldo Martínez”, 130 cheeses from more than 30 companies participated.
Colonia “super gold” cheese.
The cheeses presented by artisanal and industrial cheesemakers were evaluated by 30 judges selected after three monthly leveling instances (two at the Escuela Superior de Lechería in Colonia Suiza and the rest at the Technological University of Uruguay in La Paz) and seven juries from Argentina and Brazil.
The cheese tasting was held at El Recreo, an event space located in Rosario, Colonia, on Thursday, November 10 and Friday, November 11, with the awards ceremony taking place on Saturday, November 12, as part of a trade fair, with the presence of the president Lacalle Pou, the mayors of Colonia, San José and Soriano and other authorities from the public and private sectors.
For the “super gold” award, only the cheeses that previously won gold medals in the respective categories competed, it was explained.
Albert O’Brien.
Super gold for Ecilda Paullier
Alberto O’Brien has run, for several decades, the establishment La Rosita, in the Ecilda Paullier town of Maragata, where artisanal cheeses with the O’Brien brand are produced.
They are made with milk from a Dutch herd made up of about 200 cows, managed within a covered structure (in a system known as “hot bed”), where they are fed with corn silage, a nucleus with vitamins and minerals and also protein. (currently, canola expeller).
In the farm, this spring, the cows are divided into two batches, the top one that has a productive average of 34 liters per day and another that is 24 to 25 liters, which goes out to eat in the field: they are the cows that are in the last third of gestation, already to dry.
O’Brien recalled that he had already won prizes in this contest, but this time the satisfaction increased as he took home a silver medal (for a Semiduro) and two gold (for a Dambo and a Colonia), and also with One of those gold medal cheeses – Colonia – reached “super gold”, a distinction that was awarded for the first time and received by two producers, since there was a tie in the maximum score awarded by the jury team.
That “super gold” cheese was a seven-kilo last, parked for more than 60 days, “with its cold and hot chamber process, with the same treatment that we have given all cheeses for years.”
“When we chose the cheeses for this contest, we chose them because of the look on the outside, we didn’t see the inside because it had to be completely closed,” he said.
This “super gold” level cheese, he commented, “is a cheese in which you can see the hand of the person who makes the cheese, who stirs it, who decides the size of the grain, for example, it is a cheese with a lactic flavor, soft, not strong, it is very rich on the palate”.
Colonia “super gold” cheese.
What O’Brien values most, regarding the award, is that his cheeses “come out very even”, so much so that he remarked that one was not prepared for the contest, any of the set of parked cheeses was taken (actually each contestant had to present two lasts and the jury chose one to taste).
“That the cheeses are of equal quality is something important for the consumer, especially for those who follow the brand,” he said.
In the O’Brien establishment, a production of 5,000 liters of milk is developed per day, which allows the production of 500 kilos of cheeses per day, Colonia cheeses with and without salt, Dambo common and light, Mozzarella and Magro with and without salt ( with a skimmer), for example.
O’Brien, he acknowledged, takes his participation in these instances very seriously, even this year he innovated by appearing for the first time in a Cheese World Cup in Wales. He sent a Colonia cheese and although he did not achieve a distinction because “it was a very new cheese, it lacked flavor, it lacked ripening”, he gathered lessons from the experience, he stressed that “having crossed the ocean with a Uruguayan artisanal cheese has a lot of value”. and added that he plans to participate again in 2023, when the World Cup is held in Norway.
“Europeans like strong flavors, note that the one that won was a cheese that had been stored for a year,” he explained.
Finally, he recalled that a few years ago he participated in international instances, winning gold medals with semi-hard cheeses in contests at the Suipacha Expo and the Mercoláctea, in both cases in Argentina.
Super gold for Carmelo
For the Narbona brand cheeses, produced in Carmelo, the debut in the field of local cheese competitions was dreamed of: in the first experience they returned home with one of the two “super gold” awarded, for a Camembert, but they also had distinctions for Parmesan, Provolone and Brie cheeses.
María José Banchero, who is in charge of industrial management -her brother Fernando is in charge of the field activity in the establishment- in a firm with 30 years of experience, explained that they presented a 200-gram Camembert cheese that is exactly the same that are marketed throughout the country, a soft, creamy and smooth cheese. “It is a cheese that has a spectacular flavor”, she highlighted.
Camembert, a cheese with a designation of origin in France, comes from Normandy, Orne department and was created by Marie Harel, a peasant from Vimoutiers, where her statue is located.
“It was the first contest for us and we had a lot of faith in cheese, because we know how we produce it, as if they were all for us to eat, taking care of every detail, we are very strict in that and we are always prioritizing quality, never quantity”, stressed.
The origin is in the milk provided by cows from a herd based on the Holando breed, but with several Jerseys, animals that Banchero likes a lot.
The average production per day and per cow is 25 liters.
“My passion is cheeses”, he highlighted, while listing the wide variety produced under the Narbona brand: Parmesan cheeses –“it was the one we started with and the emblematic cheese for us”–, Provolone, Mozzarella, Morbier, Camembert, Reblochon, Raclette and Brie.
He also indicated that there is production of yogurt and dulce de leche in the establishment.
The history of this other winning cheese began several years ago, when with the aim of venturing into the production of French cheeses -to distinguish themselves and not only produce the cheeses that are traditionally made in Uruguay- they invited Roland Perrin, considered in the world international cheese maker as the “Messiah of Cheese”.
His advice, for years, allowed us to form a very well-prepared team to make these French cheeses and, Banchero highlighted, “this award confirms that we have learned and that we are doing things well.”
María Noel Banchero and the French expert who prepared the Narbona team.
Next, all gold and super gold level award winners:
A dream
Alberto O’Brien, one of the winners of the “super gold” award in the recent cheese contest, pointed out that it would be essential to add value to Uruguayan Colonia cheeses to make progress in achieving the “designation of origin” for this native dairy product. Uruguayan, which is made mainly in the east of Colonia and west of San José. The Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP) is working on that, he said.
The “super gold” Camembert cheese.
