A total of 264 cheeses compete in the Official Agrocanarias 2026 Contest organized by the Government of the Canary Islands through the Canary Institute of Agri-food Quality (ICCA) with the aim of recognizing and promoting the best productions of the Archipelago, especially those made under differentiated quality labels. This figure translates into an increase in participation of 18.39% compared to the previous edition, which stands at 58.08% if we compare it with 2023.
In this edition, which is held this June 24 and 25 in La Palma with the collaboration of the island council, the productions of 85 cheese factories participate, which represents 13.33% more than last year. Of these, 33 are from Gran Canaria, 15 from La Palma, 14 from Tenerife, 12 from Fuerteventura, 7 from Lanzarote, 2 from El Hierro, and 2 from La Gomera. Regarding the cheeses presented to the contest, a total of 102 come from Gran Canaria, 51 from La Palma, 43 from Tenerife, 36 from Fuerteventura, 26 from Lanzarote, 4 from El Hierro, and 2 from La Gomera.
The inauguration ceremony of the event was attended by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food Sovereignty of the Government of the Canary Islands, Narvay Quintero; the director of the Canary Institute of Agri-food Quality (ICCA), Luis Arráez Guadalupe; the insular minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Food Sovereignty, and Animal Welfare, Alberto Paz; and the councilor for Agriculture of the Breña Baja City Council, Daniel Cabrera.
During his speech, Narvay Quintero explained that "this event, which has established itself as a platform for the promotion of our cheese factories and their productions, has experienced notable growth in the last three editions, with more than 58% in the number of samples presented and 51.79% in the number of participating companies." "The 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 accumulate awards and distinctions in competitions held all over the world," he added.
For his part, Luis Arráez Guadalupe pointed out that initiatives such as the Agrocanarias Contests are part of "the Executive's support strategy for the work of primary sector producers so that both Canarians and those who visit us value and acquire these products at fair prices that ensure the profitability of cheese factories and livestock farms." In this regard, he explained that the novelty of this edition is that the ICCA will cover the registration and logistics costs of those companies admitted to the contest that wish to participate in the international "World Cheese Awards" competition, which will be held in Córdoba next November. In turn, the director thanked the support of the Cabildo de La Palma in holding this event, as well as the work of the tasters who make up the tasting panel.
For his part, the island councilor for the area, Alberto Paz, expressed his pride in the island's primary sector and its native breeds, "thanks to which, together with the uniqueness of our pastures, with species such as tagasaste and tedera, we have great cheeses, of enormous quality and with their own personality."
Councilman Daniel Cabrera highlighted the importance of this competition, which "contributes to valuing products that are part of our identity and our gastronomy," and encouraged administrations and organizing entities "to continue choosing the municipality as the venue for this type of initiative, which will always have the support of the local corporation."
Blind tasting
The competition establishes different categories of cheeses depending on whether they are made with pasteurized milk or raw milk, from different livestock species (goat, cow, sheep, and mixed) and in different stages of maturation (fresh, semi-cured, cured, old, and aged). Different modalities are also contemplated according to the type of coagulation (vegetable rennet or a mixture of vegetable rennet and others) and maturation by the development of molds (inside or on the surface).
The distribution of the participating productions in this edition is as follows: tender pasteurized (15), semi-cured pasteurized (37), cured pasteurized (23), aged pasteurized (1), extra-aged pasteurized (6), tender raw goat milk (29), semi-cured raw goat milk (54), cured raw goat milk (24), aged raw goat milk (3), extra-aged raw goat milk (4), semi-cured raw cow milk (3), cured raw cow milk (3), tender raw sheep milk (2), semi-cured raw sheep milk (6), cured raw sheep milk (9), aged raw sheep milk (1), extra-aged raw sheep milk (2), tender raw mixed milk (1), semi-cured raw mixed milk (13), cured raw mixed milk (8), aged raw mixed milk (1), extra-aged raw mixed milk (4), semi-flower (6), flower (6), with moldy rind (2), and blue (1).
The competition is governed by a blind tasting system through which the tasting panel, made up of specialists in the analysis of agri-food products, evaluates the samples without knowing their origin. With their evaluations, they determine the productions awarded with the great gold medals, gold medals and silver medals, as well as those recognized with the special distinctions "Best Cheese of the Canary Islands", "Best Organic Cheese of the Canary Islands", "Best Limited Production Cheese of the Canary Islands" and "Best Image and Presentation" (which will exclude those productions recognized in previous editions, unless they show notable differences from the already distinguished design).
The jury will also award the special distinction "Best Popular Cheese of the Canary Islands" to the best-scored elaboration by a consumer panel made up of teachers and students from the Hospitality and Tourism department of the CIFP Virgen de Las Nieves, in Santa Cruz de La Palma, as well as "Best Cheese Chosen by the Children's Jury" to the production made with goat's milk chosen by a tasting panel of boys and girls belonging to the students of CEIPs from different towns on the island of La Palma.
The product chosen as Best Cheese of the Canary Islands will be featured in a report that will be published on the website of this autonomous body and sent to various general media and those specialized in agricultural information and gastronomy, for its dissemination. In addition, the awarded productions may use the official distinctive of the obtained prize for one year and will participate in the different promotion and fostering events organized by the ICCA. All productions admitted to the competition will have their registration and logistics expenses covered for their participation in the Gourmets Cheeses Championship 2027, which will be held in Madrid.
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