Swiss Le Gruyère AOP Wins Second Consecutive World Champion Cheese Title
A gruyere from Switzerland has been named the 2022 World Champion Cheese for the second consecutive time and third overall.
The cheese, made by Michael Spycher of Mountain Dairy Fritzenhaus, comes from a small dairy that works with just 12 farmers and is called Gourmino Le Gruyère AOP.
The award-winning product comes from a small dairy working with 12 farmers within a 3-mile (5km) radius, a Gourmino AG spokesman said. Mountain Dairy Fritzenhaus produces about 85 tons (77 metric tons) of the Gruyère each year out of a total of 32,000 tons of the cheese produced annually in Switzerland.
Earning an impressive score of 98.423 out of 100, Gourmino Le Gruyère AOP bested an impressive 2,978 entries in the 2022 World Championship Cheese Contest. The cheese also earned the World Champion title in 2020 and 2008.
First runner-up in the contest, with a score of 98.331, is Appenzeller® Mild-Würzig, an Appenzeller made by Käserei Niederbüren AG of Niederbüren, Switzerland. Erzherzog Johann, a mature washed rind/smear ripened hard cheese, made by Obersteirische Molkerei eGen of Knittelfeld, Steiermark, Austria earned the second runner-up position with a score of 98.254.
Over the course of three days, a team of 53 internationally renowned dairy processing experts hailing from 16 nations evaluated cheese, butter, yogurt, and dry dairy ingredient entries from all over the world. The world's 20 best cheeses were announced earlier today.
For more information on the Contest, photos, and complete results, visit WorldChampionCheese.org.