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Happy National Cheese Lovers’ Day! How best to celebrate this glorious occasion?

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Today’s cheese fest is rooted in the U.S. who in 2022 – according to Statista – rated second in the world for overall cheese consumption. The EU was first. Cheese consumption, for those aiming for superfan status,  is measured by the 1000 metric tons. 🧀

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In working towards that first metric ton on Cheese Lovers’ Day, one might want to sample ‘the world’s largest cow milk cheese’. It’s a 1995 cheddar which – according to the Guinness World Book of Records –  weighs just under 58,000 pounds and  was created by Agropur in Granby, Quebec. 🇨🇦

In the world of sheep, the size winner is a 2020 Pecorino which came in at 1,319.4 pounds, and was created using 4500 liters of sheeps’ milk by Italy’s Comune di Loculi.

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For true turophiles – or ‘fanciers of cheese’, as Merriam Webster tells us – what is the best variety to sample on this auspicious day? Look no further than the World Cheese Awards, this year held in South Wales – ‘The Land of Dragons’.

250 judges from 38 nations worked their way through 4,434 cheeses until finally a winner was crowned: a Gruyère from Switzerland. Or, more specifically: 👑 ‘CH 4026. Vorderfultigen Gourmino Le Gruyère AOP surchoix Interprofession du Gruyère Switzerland’. 👑

AOP, or “Appellation d’Origine Protégée”, is a carefully controlled agricultural designation whose list of product requirements include origins in a limited production zone, history, know-how, and tradition.

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Happy Day, Fellow Cheese Lovers!

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www.justcurious.ca

Photos: Anto Meneghini