Created from uncooked cow’s milk by mountain dairy Fritzenhaus in Switzerland and named after the river that flows close to the farm, Hornbacher is an aged Alpine cheese that’s agency and crumbly, with a creamy mouthfeel and savory taste akin to a freshly baked potato; it presents hints of butter, caramelized onions, mushrooms, roasted nuts and caramel.
Hornbacher is made by four-time World Champion cheesemaker Michael Spycher for Gourmino AG. The model that gained the highest gong was Hornbacher ‘Little Brother’ – an 8-month aged selection which Gourmino is about to launch later this 12 months as a ‘youthful’ different to the 12 month-aged Hornbacher. “Gourmino’s determination to launch the Hornbacher’s junior this 12 months is strengthened by this consequence,” the corporate mentioned in an announcement. “The 8-month-old Hornbacher impresses with its umami and caramel aroma.”
Spycher’s fourth world cheese champion award follows three others, awarded in 2008, 2020 and 2022 respectively, all for Gruyere, which his dairy additionally produces. In actual fact, Gourmino Le Gruyere AOP, which was named World Champion Cheese in 2022, got here fourth this 12 months, some 0.225 factors behind the gold medal.
Spycher has been making Hornbacher along with his staff and spouse Monika for greater than 25 years – and till 2014, the cheese was bought solely of their cheese store.
However with rising demand – together with from export markets – led to a choice to increase manufacturing, and construct a bigger cheese cellar, the place the cheese matures and is saved till shortly earlier than being delivered to clients.
A detailed contest
Hornbacher’s and Spycher’s crowning as champions passed off at this 12 months’s World Championship Cheese Contest, a 67 year-old technical cheese and butter competitors hosted by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Affiliation in Madison, Wisconsin.
Greater than 3,300 cheeses from 25 nations and 32 US states entered the competitors and have been judged by a staff of 53 judges from everywhere in the world. The winner and the 2 runners-up have been all laborious or semi-hard aged cheeses.
With 84 Better of Class finishes, American cheesemakers earned the very best variety of gold medals, with Wisconsin dairy processors claiming 39 first-place finishes, California cheesemakers incomes seven, and Illinois cheesemakers claiming 5.
Cheesemakers from the Netherlands took residence 11 golds, and Swiss cheesemakers completed third within the by-country rating with eight Better of Class awards.
The Swiss cohort took residence essentially the most coveted prize of all, as Hornbacher was named the 2024 World Champion Cheese.
The Swiss cheese, a class and general winner, narrowly beat the 2 runners-up with some extent tally of 98.98 out of 100.
First runner-up, Artikaas’ Classic Lot 18 imported by Dutch Cheese Makers, managed 98.923; and second runner-up, Batch #17 by The Farm at Doe Run from Pennsylvania, scored 98.915.
Classic Lot 18, a Gouda cheese aged for 18 months, additionally took the Better of Class gong within the class of Gouda, Additional Aged (over 10 months). Classic Lot 18 preciously gained second place in the identical class within the 2020 contest.
In the meantime, The Farm at Doe Run’s Creamery Assortment Batch #17, a tough aged cheese made from a mixture of goats milk (80%) and cows milk (20%), additionally gained first place in its class earlier than coming as second runners-up within the competitors. The Coatesville-based dairy’s St. Malachi Reserve – which “resembles a mix of a Dutch washed curd and French Alpine cheese” in accordance with the farm’s co-cheesemaker Matt Hettlinger – additionally claimed first place in its class, whereas Mayfly, a Camamber-style cheese, acquired third place within the camembert class.
John Umhoefer, govt director on the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Affiliation, congratulated Michael Spycher. “Congratulations are to ensure that Michael Spycher on attaining the unimaginable feat of a fourth Better of Present end on the World Championship Cheese Contest,” he mentioned. “His win with Hornbacher follows three others, in 2022, 2020 and 2008 with Gruyere, demonstrating his dedication to excellence within the artwork and science of cheesemaking.”
