This Saturday (27/4), the 15th Minas Artesanal do Serro Municipal Cheese Competition will take place, a place with a great tradition in the art of making cheese. But the municipal competitions agenda remains busy in the months of May and June.
Serro cheese is one of the most famous in Minas Gerais, with pieces of compact consistency, yellowish color and a semi-hard interior. The action of bacteria found in the soil around Serra do Espinhaço provides a slightly acidic, but smooth flavor.
The Minas Artesanal do Serro Municipal Cheese Competition will take place at Praça João Pinheiro, starting at 9am, accompanied by the Family Farmers’ Free Market.
Cheese tourism
“Historically, Serro is a municipality very involved in cheese production, naming an entire region. As it is a historic and tourist city, the Serro competition is an important moment for cheese producers, which are part of tourist itineraries. Being one of the champions is an attraction for tourists to look for that cheese factory to visit”, comments the state coordinator of Minas Artesanal Cheese at the Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company of the State of Minas Gerais (Emater-MG), Maria Edinice Rodrigues.
The coordinator also highlights that the municipal competitions are an important stage of the Minas Artesanal Cheese State Competition, scheduled for August, as it is in them that the competitors for the regional competitions are defined, whose finalists go to the grand state final.
In regions where there is no competition, a selection of cheeses will be made from businesses legalized by the Instituto Mineiro de Agropecuária (IMA) or official inspection services to participate in the state competition.
In April, municipal competitions took place in Bambuí (7th), Paulistas (12th) and Materlândia (24th).
Event programming
In the month of May, five municipal competitions will be held: Vargem Bonita (4th), Dom Joaquim (10th), Piumhi (18th), Alvorada de Minas and Sabinópolis (the last two on the 30th).
In July, there is a competition in São Roque de Minas (1st) and Delfinópolis (30th), both in Serra da Canastra.
In municipal competitions, the judges will evaluate the internal and external aspects of each piece. Externally, aspects such as presentation (shape and finish) and color (uniform or stained) are evaluated.
After splitting, the texture (appearance and graininess), consistency (hardness and greasiness) and taste and smell (flavor and aroma) of the cheeses are analyzed.
Artisanal cheeses from Minas Gerais are increasingly gaining national and international recognition, with awards abroad and the candidacy of their Way of Making Cheese Minas Artesanal (QMA), as Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Schedule of 2024 competitions
27/4 – Serro
04/5 – Vargem Bonita
10/5 – Dom Joaquim
18/5 – Piumhi
30/5 – Alvorada de Minas
30/5 – Sabinópolis
1/6 – São Roque de Minas
30/6 – Delfinópolis.
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Tags: Saturday #27th #15th Minas Artesanal Municipal Cheese Competition begins
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