Brazilians have long been fond of cheese. Queijo, as it’s called in Portuguese, is a mainstay of most daily diets, from doughy balls of pão de queijo (cheese bread) to misto quente (cheese and ham toasties) and pizzas piled high with melting mozzarella. Cheese is even a staple at Brazilian barbecues, with salty queijo coalho skewers grilled to a crisp alongside slabs of beef.
This voracious appetite for cheese has, until recently, been dominated by relatively bland and highly processed cheeses. A decade ago, the only artisanal cheeses to be found in good supermarkets in Brazil were those imported from France, Italy and Spain. Brazil’s small cadre of independent producers were battling to stay afloat in the face of draconian laws and consumers who, for the most part, associated quality with imported cheese.
Brazil’s Cheese Revolution
Brazil’s cheese revolution – and it really has been a revolution, in the legislation, the distribution and the appetite for more interesting local cheeses – earned international recognition in September when Brazil came second in the Mondial du Fromage et des Produits Laitiers, in Tours, France. The international competition, organized by the Guilde Internationale des Fromagers, judged 940 cheeses from 46 countries. A total of 183 Brazilian cheeses were in the running and 57 won medals, placing second only to France.
The medal winners represent a selection of spectacular cheeses from across half a dozen Brazilian states. Minas Gerais state dominated the medal line-up thanks to its centuries-old cheesemaking traditions. It is home to two of Brazil’s four cheese making regions that have won geographical indication status (Serra da Canastra and Serro, awarded in 2012 and 2013, respectively), giving a seal of authenticity to the regions’ cheeses.
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A Closer Look at the Winners
Six producers from São Paulo state won medals, five of them women, including Heloisa Collins’ Dolce Bosco, the only goat cheese among the Brazilian medal winners. Cow’s milk cheeses dominated the line-up, with four of the five Brazilian medal winners in the “super gold” category made from unpasteurized cow’s milk. A bronze medal was awarded to a buffalo milk cheese (Queijo do Marajó Crème) from Ilha do Marajó – a fluvial island at the mouth of the Amazon River. Larger than Switzerland, the island is home to more than half a million water buffalo, first introduced in the late 19th century. Marajó cheese was awarded a geographical indication status by the Brazilian government earlier this year.
Overcoming Obstacles
It’s not just the Brazilian producers’ cheesemaking skills that are worthy of praise, but their tenacity in making it to France for the competition. Some had to quarantine for 14 days in Switzerland due to Covid-19 restrictions, others had to rush to arrange passports (and vaccinations) in order to leave Brazil for the first time. In previous years, producers even resorted to smuggling their cheeses out of the country to sidestep both Brazilian and EU restrictions on travelling with unpasteurized dairy products. It has been worth the effort, though.
“Taking part in the Mondial du Fromage is a chance to connect with cheese professionals from all over the world, and that exchange of experiences is extremely important,” says Vanessa Alcoléa from Pardinho Artesanal, which won four medals in the competition. “To have your work recognized by international judges from one of the most important competitions in the cheese world is unquestionable. It shows that we’re on the right path and it shows the potential that Brazilians have in the cheese world.”
The logistics of taking part in international cheese competitions aren’t always so complicated for the Brazilian producers. In 2019, Brazil hosted its first Mundial do Queijo do Brasil with a panel from the Guilde Internationale des Fromages judging cheeses from Australia, USA, France and Brazil. A date for the second edition has already been set, in September 2022, at the open-air art gallery Inhotim in the heart of rural Minas Gerais.