Arla’s smoked Gouda cheese named top 20 in the world

Out of 2,978 entries in the 2022 World Championship Cheese Contest, judges narrowed the field to just 20 in the search for the 2022 World Champion and cheesemaker Dave Newman’s Gouda smoked cheese, named Castello Smoked Cracked Pepper Gouda and produced at the Arla Foods plant in Hollandtown, made the top 20.

The Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association hosted the biennial competition,.

A gruyere from Switzerland was named the winner for the second consecutive time and third overall. The cheese, called Gourmino Le Gruyère AOP is made by Michael Spycher of Mountain Dairy Fritzenhaus in Bern, Switzerland for Gourmino AG.

Among the 33 U.S. states represented in the Contest, Wisconsin cheesemakers excelled with 45 Best in Class titles. Next in line was New York with 12 first-place finishes, followed by Idaho with 11 gold medal winners.

The World Championship Cheese Contest, initiated in 1957, is the largest technical cheese, butter, yogurt, and whey competition in the world. A team of 53 internationally renowned judges evaluated all entries over the three-day event.