The contest
Around 80 judges, all from countries with mountain farming and cheese production will be assessing the 800 or so mountain cheeses entered in 16 different categories. The juries will be made up of experts from cheese dairies, cheese marketing, the catering sector, colleges as well as specialist journalists.
To be eligible for the competition, milk has to be used that has been produced at an altitude in excess of 600 m. The international jury will be basing its assessments on the competition rules set out by Caseus Montanus.
The sensory testing for each cheese involves the following three criteria and a maximum score of 20 points: Appearance/exterior/holes (5 points), taste/aroma (10 points) and consistency/dough (5 points).
The judges’ assessments will be used to create a position table for each category. The winners in each category will be awarded a gold, silver or bronze medal on the 25th October 2009. In addition, the cheeses with a protected designation of origin within each category will also be awarded prizes.
