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A total of 223 cheeses compete to be the best production in the Canary Islands in Agrocanarias, and 35% more than in the last edition
A total of 223 cheeses compete to be the best production of Canary Islands in it Official Agrocanarias Competition 2024, which is celebrated from 18 al 20 June in Puerto del Rosario, o Puerto Cabras, as the capital of Fuerteventura and whose name would have come to mind in a contest with a notable presence of product from goat cattle, as obvious to highlight in a cheese competition from the islands.
This figure represents an increase in the participation of 35,15% with respect to the last edition of the contest, organized by the Department of Agriculture, Cattle raising, Fisheries and Food Sovereignty of the Government of the Canary Islands, through the ICanarian Institute of Agri-Food Quality (ICCA), in order to recognize and promote the differentiated quality products of the archipelago.
In this call, he Government of the Balearic Islands, visiting this week in Canary Islands to learn first-hand about the policies for promoting agri-food products and the projects of the Canary Islands Executive aimed at strengthening the link between the primary and tourism sectors and generating synergies between both., accompanies the Canarian corporation in the celebration of the event.
In this edition, which is developed with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fishing of the Island Council, participate 75 you would like, in front of the 56 of 2023, of which 24 are from Gran Canaria, 12 of Tenerife, 12 of The Palm, 12 of Fuerteventura, 9 of Lanzarote, 4 of La Gomera y 2 of The iron. With respect to the cheeses, 65 come from Gran Canaria, 46 of The Palm, 41 of Tenerife, 35 of Fuerteventura, 27 of Lanzarote, 5 of the Gomera y 4 They are from El Hierro, which represents a 35,15% of samples more than in the last edition.
Contest details
The contest establishes different categories depending on whether they are productions made with pasteurized milk or raw milk., of different livestock species (goat, vaca, sheep and mix) and different stages of maturation (tender, semi-cured, cured, old and stale). The type of coagulation is also considered (of vegetable rennet or a mixture of vegetable rennet and others) and maturation due to the development of molds (inside or on the surface).
On this occasion, have participated in the tender pasteurized categories (11), pasteurized semi-cured (24), pasteurized cured (27), old pasteurized (2), aged pasteurized (6), raw tender goat's milk (21), semi-cured raw goat milk (46), raw cured goat milk (25), raw old goat's milk (4), aged raw goat's milk (3), semi-cured raw cow's milk (3), cured raw cow's milk (3), raw old cow's milk (1), raw semi-cured sheep's milk (5), raw cured sheep's milk (5), raw old sheep's milk (2), aged raw sheep's milk (1), raw milk tender mix (1), raw milk semi-cured mixture (13), raw milk cured mixture (8), old raw milk mix (1), aged raw milk blend (2), half flower (2), flower (3), with moldy crust (3), and blue (1).
The competition is governed by a blind tasting system, where the tasting panel, made up of twenty-three tasters, specialists in the analysis of agri-food products, evaluates the samples without knowing the brands of the productions being analyzed. With their evaluations they determine the productions awarded with the Great Gold Medals, Gold and Silver Medals, as well as the special distinctions of “Best Cheese from the Canary Islands”, “Best Organic Cheese”, “Best Limited Production Cheese”, “Best Image and Presentation”, “Best Popular Cheese”, y “Best Cheese chosen by the Children's Jury”.
The award-winning productions, that will be announced at an institutional event to be held on 9 of July, They will be able to use the official badge of the prize obtained for one year and will participate in the different development and promotional events that the ICCA organized throughout the year. In addition, to the cheese factories that have been admitted to this competition, Registration and logistics costs will be paid in the Gourmet Cheese Championship which is celebrated annually in Madrid.
Important institutional support
The opening ceremony of the event was attended by the counselor of Agriculture, Cattle raising, Fisheries and Food Sovereignty of the Government of the Canary Islands, Narvay Quintero, the advisor of the area of the Government of the Balearic Islands, Joan Simonet Pons, the president of the Fuerteventura Town Hall, Lola Garcia, the insular counselor of Turismo, Marlene Figueroa, the mayor of Puerto del Rosario, David de Vera, the advisor of Agriculture, Livestock and Fishing of the insular corporation, Matías Peña García, the general director of Cattle raising, Andrés Díaz Matoso, the director of Canarian Institute of Agri-Food Quality (ICCA), Luis Arraez Guadalupe, and the Balearic directors of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development and of Agri-food quality and local product, Fernando Fernandez and the Joan Llabrés, respectively.
During his intervention, Narvay Quintero highlighted the increase in participation in this edition of the contest, “which has established itself as a platform for farmers and cheese makers to promote their differentiated quality products., that recognizes its excellence and promotes its commercialization”. “The Canary Islands are one of the regions with the highest cheese consumption, and with more awards for these productions both nationally and internationally”, he added.
Quintero commented that another of the objectives of the Government of the Canary Islands es “that both the canaries, How the tourists who visit us value and buy these productions, ensuring a fair price for producers and the profitability of livestock and cheese farms”, added. In this sense, He stressed that the Canary Islands Executive is working “so that tourism draws on the primary sector as a sector that feeds us and forms a landscape that is a tourist attraction, hence the importance of tourism being linked to primary and protecting it”.
For your part, the balearic counselor, stated that “in recent years, Balearics has fallen a bit behind when it comes to promoting its quality products. That's why, It is important to be able to observe these types of contests in first person., its structure and operation, to adapt these initiatives for the benefit of our primary sector”. In this sense, Simonet has emphasized that “the smaller our producers are, The most they need the support of the administration so that their products reach the consumer, whether resident or visitor, and that they can sell their products at a fair price that allows them to continue subsisting”.
The president of the island corporation, Lola Garcia, thanked the ICCA and to the Ministry of Government of the Canary Islands to celebrate in Fuerteventura, “such an important contest to highlight the product we have on the islands and promote its commercialization, with distinctions that are a clear recognition of the effort made by the primary sector to achieve this excellence”. In this sense, García stood out “the commitment that administrations must make so that this industry is competitive and our traditions are maintained as part of our culture”.
After the inauguration of the contest, both directors and their respective teams, accompanied by representatives of the Island Council, They held a meeting with ICCA technical staff to delve into the actions to promote and promote agri-food products of differentiated quality that it develops and in which the Canary Islands Executive participates at the regional level., national and international.
