“When we heard unofficially that one of our cheeses won a gold medal, I could not believe it for at least half an hour. When I found out that two of them had been awarded, I was very surprised. I was so happy, but I know I can do better than that,” noted cheese master Szabolcs Elek.

“Our farm cheese is very pleasant, creamy when young and slightly acidic, it has a little bit of a bouquet, both in smell and in taste, which is not so harsh yet. At 9 months, it has a much more intense and sweet taste. It also shows salt crystals over time. It has a salty and sweet taste at the same time. Pilis is a mountain cheese, but not the hard version, but the semi-hard version. When it is young, it brings out the best of the pasture aromas. It is a little sweet when young, and when it is old it has a harshly sweet, savory, almost meaty taste…” said the cheese master when presenting the winning products.

More than 4,000 cheeses entered the competition and around 300 were awarded gold medals.

A record number of entries have been received for this year’s competition. Among them were cheeses from seven Hungarian producers. The event has been held since 1988.

At Breier Farm, only fresh, additive-free, pasteurized haymilk is used to make the cheese. In the Alpine countries, the impeccable quality of the milk, known as “cheese milk,” makes their cheeses much more delicate, fresh, and natural than the average.

Among other things, this was recognized by the 264-member international jury at the world competition in Norway, which awarded the cheese two gold medals.

Breier Farm hopes that their success can give a big boost to Hungarian cheese makers and inspire Hungarian cheese factories. They believe that Hungarian artisan cheesemaking has developed a lot in recent years, and that this is increasingly reflected in results, even at the biggest international competitions.

Photo: Facebook/Breier Farm