Le Gruyère AOP Gourmino Cheese - Best Cheese in the World 22/23 (wedge)

The Le Gruyère AOP Gourmino cheese, made from raw cow's milk, was awarded as the Best Cheese in the World 22/23 at the 2022 World Cheese Awards and also won the title of best Swiss cheese at the Swiss Cheese Awards, held in Le Châble, which recognize the best cheese makers in the country. The Le Gruyère AOP cheese is a "surchoix" version of the cheese made by the Vorderfuldigen dairy and aged by Gourmino. The judge of the competition described this winning cheese as: "it is smooth in the mouth and melts on the tongue. It has a lot of flavor, from herbal to fruity, toasted, with a hint of real leather. It is well-balanced and long-lasting." This cheese owes its characteristic flavor to the high quality of its milk, from cows fed on Swiss pastures during the summer and hay in the winter. The delicacy and quality of Le Gruyere AOP is achieved through a rigorous production process inherited from 1115 in the canton of Fribourg (Switzerland) and no additives can be added to comply with the protected designation of origin AOP. During the ripening period, which lasts several months, the wheels are turned several times and washed with saltwater. The moisture allows for the formation of fat which promotes ripening from the rind to the interior of the cheese. This gives Le Gruyère AOP its unique flavor. As an interesting fact, to produce a 35-kilogram cheese wheel, about 400 liters of fresh milk are needed. Therefore, it is supplied to dairies twice a day from nearby dairy farms (located within a maximum radius of 20 kilometers). Best Cheese in the World at the World Cheese Awards 2022-23