For the third consecutive year, the cheese factory ‘Quesos del Casar SL’ has emerged as winner of the Tasting Torta del Casar Competition in its 24th edition. The renowned contest gastronomic has awarded this cheese factory again in a very special year for the protected cheese, as it took place within the framework of the thirtieth edition of Cake Week and coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Denomination of Origin. In addition to the champion, ‘Doña Francisca’, ‘El Castúo’, ‘Los Casareños’, ‘Lácteos del Búrdalo’ and ‘Iberqués Extremadura’ have participated in the activity and all have presented certified cheeses in different formats, but all under the gold and red label that surrounds each cheese covered by the Torta del Casar PDO.
The event took place at the ‘Atrio’ restaurant in the capital of Cáceres and was led by a jprofessional uratemade up of specialists in the sector, such as chef Alejandro Hernández, the director of the Cheese Institute, Luisa Villegas or the professional taster and former coordinator of the Manchego Cheese DOP tasting panel, Pedro Condés, among others. To choose the winner of the contest, the experts have considered different parameters such as the color, texture and thickness of the crust, the color of the pasta, its smell, creaminess and, of course, its flavor, also taking into consideration persistence. of this in the mouth once consumed.
The jury of the contest was made up of different professionals.
Strict selection criteria that, after close deliberation, have led the jury to once again opt for ‘Quesos del Casar’, like the previous two days. With this, the cheese factory receives the diploma ‘Best Wedding Cake 2024’ at the closing ceremony of the 30th Torta del Casar Week, which is held at the Carvajal Palace in Cáceres. Mario Blascothe director of the entity winnerhighlighted that “this recognition is a way of feeling that we are doing things.” Furthermore, he states that all the staff at the cheese factory know the importance of Torta del Casar and, therefore, they put yesu effort and attention to improve it year after year.
For his part, the director of the Torta del Casar Protected Designation of Origin, Javier Muñozhas valued the excellence of the Tortas del Casar that participate each season in the Tasting Competition, which this year celebrated its 24th edition, and added that it is a contest that allows you to discover the great variety that exists between the different cheese factories.
The Casar Cake It is a natural product made through different traditional methods based on raw sheep’s milk from controlled farms, vegetable rennet – from thistle – and salt. Like different cheeses, it was born from the need to preserve milk, since in the past it was the only way in which it could be preserved from deterioration.
However, occasionally a process occurred that the shepherds considered accidental and unwanted, resulting in a white cheese that sank under its own weight, resembling a flour ‘cake’ more than a cheese. Given that this occurred almost exclusively in the neighboring regions of Casar de Cáceres, this product went down in history as the cradle of the place.
A family story
The cheese factory ‘Quesos el casar’ was founded in 1985 by Adrián Blasco and Engracia Rey under the name ‘Quesería Rey’, being the first cheese factory in Casar de Cáceres. The creators set out to recover the production of cheeses that from the beginning belonged to Extremaduran lands, the result of the livestock and gastronomic traditions of the province of Cáceres, and today they have earned a place at the top.
Currently, the gastronomic company is managed by Mario Blasco Reyrepresentative of the second generation of the family that continues to keep the essence of its founders alive with the same enthusiasm and drive, as they say on their website. He himself has stated that it is an honor for them to win this very special award again and, above all, to do so for the third consecutive year.
DOP Torta del Casar cheeses are made only in cheese factories registered in the Regulatory Council records, which works every day to guarantee its origin and quality, controlling the purity of the product. manufacturing process for the full safety and confidence of consumers.
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