BERN, Switzerland (AP) 鈥� The first thing that hits you at the World Cheese Awards is the smell.
As the 37th edition 鈥� part competition, part a celebration of cheese 鈥� kicked off in on Thursday, some visitors might wish the offerings had more holes. With descriptions of odors including 鈥渟tinky socks鈥� and 鈥渟ick dog,” it’s clearly a festival 鈥� and a challenge 鈥� for the nose as much as mouths, fingers and eyes.
Welcome to sensory overload.
Connoisseurs, culinary experts and curious consumers flocked to the three-day event in a country where cheese is both food and folklore. The first day got going with the competition, which featured over 5,200 cheeses, nearly one-fifth from Switzerland. Some 46 countries took part, a record count of competitors from Australia to Austria, Bulgaria to .
All those offerings in the same Bern exhibition hall made for an original m茅lange of odors. But once past that medley of smells, the sights, flavors and individual scents of the cheeses were tantalizing.
From 鈥楽tinking Bishop鈥� to camel cheese
John Farrand, managing director of the Guild of Fine Food in Britain, the event organizer, says some people who tell him they 鈥渄on’t like cheese, it’s that awful smelly thing鈥� just need to take time and consider the myriad choices.
鈥淚 would grab them and sit down with them and take them on that journey through cheese,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 get so many people say to me just impulsively 鈥業 don鈥檛 like blue cheese鈥� and that鈥檚 impossible really. There鈥檚 so much of a range of blue cheese from over here to over here,” 鈥� Farrand gestured around the hall 鈥� “there鈥檚 always a blue cheese for somebody.”
He rhapsodized about a 120-kg (265-pound) wheel of cheese that teams rolled in and 鈥渂roke鈥� 鈥� or cut open 鈥� unleashing a powerful cloud of odor.
鈥淭he aroma of this Emmentaler just hit me,鈥� Farrand said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the first time that that cheese has released its greatness and the aroma … just makes you hungry.鈥�
Some may turn up their noses at bacteria-blued 鈥渂leu鈥� cheeses or reject the strong odors of varieties like Limberger, Taleggio, 鈥淪tinking Bishop鈥� and 脡poisses de Bourgogne 鈥� a Burgundy specialty reputed to be Napoleon鈥檚 favorite, and one so stinky that urban legend claims it鈥檚 banned from public transport in France.
Others might not get over the hump of hesitation to taste a camel (or buffalo or donkey) cheese, or cringe at unpasteurized or squishy cheeses. More adventurous tasters will try the most gooey or moldy cheeses, looking for the most rich, creamy or meaty varieties on hand.
For the judges, no such compunction: It鈥檚 more about scrutiny, savoring, criticism and curiosity.
Strict rules for judges and journalists
Scores of judges in yellow aprons circled the rows of long, numbered rectangular tables before digging in. They sliced wedges out of hard cheeses and pressed them to their noses, or used spreaders to scoop up soft cheeses, inspecting the consistency and licking or dribbling them onto their tongues.
The judging zone was set off by a waist-high fence and ropes, and security guards kept watch. Journalists were allowed into the area only under escort, and were only allowed to view and smell the cheeses 鈥� not taste or even touch them.
It was a blind taste test for the 265-odd judges on hand: All identifying packaging or marking was removed from the cheeses. Their job was to poke, peruse, sniff, touch and taste the offerings 鈥� a tall order with so many to choose from 鈥� before making their selections for gold, silver and bronze awards based on attributes like aroma, body, texture, flavor and 鈥渕outhfeel.鈥�
Only those honored as 鈥淪uper Gold鈥� made the cut for the glitzy 鈥淪uper Jury鈥� selection of 14 finalist cheeses. The judges 鈥� and the public 鈥� only found out where the cheeses were from after the voting on each was completed.
Paul Thomas, a cheesemaker from Urstrom Kaese, south of Berlin, sliced into a blue cheese covered with cherries and billed as having hints of a Manhattan cocktail. After tasting it, he said he was “pleasantly surprised throughout most of that flavor journey.鈥�
鈥淏ut right at the end it leaves me with something just … it鈥檚 a slightly off flavor toward the back of the tongue,鈥� he added.
鈥楪ouda鈥� news for Switzerland
Experts admit that choosing a winner is tricky. While the final products from the 鈥渃aseiculture鈥� 鈥� the curdling, coagulating, cheddaring and other processes involved in making cheeses 鈥� can be judged on aspects like craftsmanship and quality, taste is an individual thing.
This year’s winner was Swiss: A 鈥渟pezial鈥� Gruyere from the Vorderfultigen Mountain Dairy about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Bern, which scored 85 points from the jury. The raw cow鈥檚 milk cheese was drained overnight and dry salted before being matured for more than 18 months.
A creamy, flower-sprinkled 鈥淐r茅meux des Aldudes aux fleurs鈥� from the village of Etxaldia in French Basque country was runner-up, trailed by a 9-month-aged Swiss Appenzeller Edel-W眉rzig. Other finalists were from Britain, Japan, the Netherlands, Slovakia and the United States.
Many cheeses come away with other accolades: More than 20 were selected as national or regional 鈥渂ests鈥� 鈥� such as best American, Basque-country, Japanese or Ukrainian cheese. Other trophies were given out by category such as the best cheddar, raw-milk, goat or ewe, or smoked cheeses.
While the U.S. state of Wisconsin hosts the World Championship Cheese Contest and a competition in France selects the world鈥檚 best cheesemonger, organizers of the World Cheese Awards say it鈥檚 the largest cheese-only event anywhere. The competition started in Britain, but Italy, Spain and Norway have also hosted.
Charlie Turnbull, director of the Academy of Cheese, poked his nose toward a round, soft brownish-orange cheese with a pungent smell caused by the Brevibacterium linens 鈥� 鈥渁 close relative to the kind of bacteria you get in boys’ trainers when they鈥檙e about 15 years old.鈥�
鈥淚t’s challenging,” Turnbull said with a slight wince. But he added that once one got past the smell, the cheese tasted wonderful, noting 鈥渉ints of fruit, lots of meaty notes, some ham stock.鈥�
鈥淎t the end of the day, taste trumps everything,” he said.
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