More cheese please
New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) runs the annual NZ Champions of Cheese Awards and promotes New Zealand cheese every October with tastings and events around the country. Apparently we are putting more specialty cheeses in our trolleys than ever before (up 7.3%; Nielsen Supermarket sales MAT to 14thJuly 2019). We still love a good cheddar, and we’re eternally grateful for our blue cheeses and Dutch-style cheeses, but this past year in particular has seen cheesemakers experiment beyond haloumi, mozzarella and feta. It’s the more exotic or relatively unknown cheeses from Italy and Mexico that have got tongues wagging: scamorza, stracchino, stracciatella, burrata, cajeta and Oaxaca. If you’re a fan of specialty cheeses, seek them out during October … or get in early before they get gobbled up!
During Cheese Month you can vote for your favourite cheese company, vie for cheese giveaways on social media and enjoy cheese events and tastings around New Zealand (details here https://nzsca.org.nz/cheese-month/)
2019 Champions of Cheese Award Winners
Don’t forget the 2019 Champions of Champions of the NZSCA Awards announced in May.
Meyer Cheese Goats Milk Gouda was named Countdown Champion of Champions (Commercial), and Mahoe Farmhouse Cheese Cumin Gouda was awarded Puhoi Valley Champion of Champions (Boutique Cheese Award).
Read the judges notes here, and check out the rest of the medal winners https://nzsca.org.nz/nz-champions-of-cheese-2019/
