A total of 226 samples are competing in the Official Cheese Contest Agrocanarias 2025 organized by the Government of the Canary Islands through the Canarian Institute of Agro-food Quality (ICCA), in collaboration with the Cabildo of Lanzarote and the Centers for Art, Culture, and Tourism (CACT), with the aim of recognizing and promoting the products of the Archipelago, especially those produced under differentiated quality figures.
This edition, which takes place this Wednesday, July 9, and this Thursday, July 10, at Los Jameos del Agua with the collaboration of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, features the creations of 73 cheese dairies, of which 25 are from Gran Canaria, 14 from Tenerife, 12 from Fuerteventura, 11 from La Palma, 7 from Lanzarote, 2 from El Hierro, and 2 from La Gomera. Regarding the cheeses, 80 come from Gran Canaria, 43 from La Palma, 37 from Tenerife, 33 from Fuerteventura, 29 from Lanzarote, 2 from El Hierro, and 2 from La Gomera.
The inauguration of the event was attended by the counselor of Agriculture, Livestock, Fishing, and Food Sovereignty of the Government of the Canary Islands, Narvay Quintero; the counselors of Food Sovereignty, Samuel Martín, and Economic Promotion, Nori Machín, from the Cabildo of Lanzarote; the first deputy mayor of Haría, Evelia García Fuentes; the director of the Canarian Institute of Agro-food Quality (ICCA), Luis Arráez Guadalupe; and the councilors of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fishing from the City Council of Arrecife, Cathaysa Suárez; and from the City Council of Teguise, Myriam Jorge.
During his speech, Narvay Quintero explained that “this event, which has established itself as a platform for promoting our cheese dairies and their productions, has experienced a growth of more than 35% in the number of samples presented in just two editions.” “Canary Islands is not only one of the regions with the highest cheese consumption, but also a territory with centuries of tradition in a sector where our professionals win awards and distinctions in competitions held around the world,” he added.
For his part, Luis Arráez Guadalupe pointed out that initiatives like the Agrocanarias Contests are part of “the Executive's support strategy for the work of primary sector producers so that both Canarians and tourists value and purchase these productions at fair prices that ensure the profitability of cheese dairies and livestock farms.” Additionally, the director of the ICCA thanked the collaboration of the Centers for Art, Culture, and Tourism (CACT) of the Cabildo of Lanzarote for hosting this event, as well as the tasters for their work.
Furthermore, the island counselor Samuel Martín reiterated his “gratitude to the Government of the Canary Islands for choosing Lanzarote and this space, Los Jameos del Agua, to celebrate this edition of a reference contest like the Agrocanarias Cheese Contest.” In this regard, the head of Food Sovereignty of the Cabildo of Lanzarote emphasized “the importance of this type of initiative to highlight the products of the island and all of the Canary Islands, both regionally and internationally.”
Moreover, Evelia García highlighted that it is “essential to promote the primary sector from public institutions not only as an economic activity but also with the crucial aim of preserving our idiosyncrasy, our cultural and ethnographic heritage.” In this regard, the first deputy mayor of Haría pointed out “the quality of the products made in the municipality, as we have several artisanal cheese dairies that have already been awarded in previous editions of this contest.”
Categories and blind tasting system
The contest establishes different categories depending on whether the productions are made with pasteurized or raw milk, from different livestock species (goat, cow, sheep, and mixed) and different maturation states (fresh, semi-cured, cured, aged, and very old). It also considers the type of coagulation (vegetable rennet or a mix of vegetable rennet and others) and maturation by the development of molds (inside or on the surface).
This time, participants have entered the categories of pasteurized fresh (13), pasteurized semi-cured (30), pasteurized cured (16), pasteurized aged (4), pasteurized very old (6), raw milk fresh goat (22), raw milk semi-cured goat (52), raw milk cured goat (21), raw milk aged goat (2), raw milk very old goat (5), raw milk semi-cured cow (2), raw milk cured cow (3), raw milk very old cow (1), raw milk fresh sheep (1), raw milk semi-cured sheep (6), raw milk cured sheep (6), raw milk aged sheep (1), raw milk very old sheep (2), raw milk fresh mixed (2), raw milk semi-cured mixed (11), raw milk cured mixed (9), raw milk aged mixed (1), raw milk very old mixed (1), half flower (1), flower (5), with moldy rind (2), and blue (1).
The contest is governed by a blind tasting system, where the tasting panel, composed of twenty-four tasters, five of whom are from the mainland, specialists in the analysis of agri-food products, scores the samples without knowing the brands of the productions they are analyzing. With their evaluations, they determine the award-winning creations with the grand gold medals, gold medals, and silver medals, as well as the special distinctions of “Best Cheese of the Canary Islands,” “Best Organic Cheese,” “Best Limited Production Cheese,” and “Best Image and Presentation.”
Additionally, the special distinction “Best Popular Cheese of the Canary Islands” will be awarded in this edition to the creation best rated by a group of consumers belonging to the Association of Friends of Wine and Cheese of Lanzarote selected by the ICCA. On the other hand, the “Best Cheese chosen by the Children's Jury” will go to the goat milk creation that receives the highest score awarded by a tasting panel composed of 20 children from various municipalities on the island participating in different activity programs during the summer.
The productions that are awarded will be able to use the official award emblem for one year and will participate in various promotion and marketing events organized by the ICCA. Additionally, the cheese dairies that have been admitted to this contest will have their registration and logistics costs covered for the Gourmet Cheese Championship held annually in Madrid.
