Morro Azul: the best cheese is from Brazil

The Brazilian Cheese World Cup has chosen Morro Azul cheese as the winner of the Best Cheese and Dairy Products Contest, beating out both Brazilian and international competitors. Morro Azul cheese is produced in Pomerode dairy, in the city of Pomerode, in Santa Catarina.

Wrapped in a wooden belt, it is a soft and creamy cheese. Buttery and milky notes predominate. It is a lactose-free product, with no added lactase enzyme (lactose is naturally eliminated during ripening).

Morro Azul is a cow's milk cheese with a moldy rind and soft paste and was developed by the brothers Juliano and Bruno Mendes, owners of Laticínios Pomerode. It was awarded in 2023 at the 35th World Cheese Awards in Norway as the Best Cheese in Latin America.

Check out the list of the 15 products selected by the super jury below:

  1. Morro Azul, Pomerode Food, Brazil
  2. Le Gruyère AOP Rèserve, Guillot Vincent, Switzerland
  3. Le Gruyère d'alpage AOP7, Stefan Konin, Switzerland
  4. Doce de Leite Du'Vale, Rodrigo Do Vale Nogueira, Brazil
  5. Le Gruyère AOP Classic, Loic Pillor, Switzerland
  6. Giant of the Flowery Woods, Heloisa Collins, Brazil
  7. Irmãos Faria Cheese, Rildo de Oliveira Faria, Brazil
  8. Vale do Testo, Pomerode Alimentos, Brazil
  9. Quina, Erico Kolya, Switzerland
  10. Le Gruyère d'alpage AOP, Famille Cèdric Rochat, Switzerland
  11. Manteiga Ghee Delícia da Cabrita, Marcelo Lopes, Brazil
  12. Ancestral of the Vertentes, Edson da Costa Cardoso, Brazil
  13. Névoa das Vertentes Premium, Edson da Costa Cardoso, Brazil
  14. Azul Britânnia, Carolina Vilhena, Brazil
  15. Rouelle cheese, Alisson Hauck Dornellas de Castro, Brazil