The National Spanish Cheese Festival or “La Feria del Queso” is an annual festival observed in the city of Trujillo in Spain. Spain is the fourth largest consumer of cheese in the world and thus has a huge number of cheese makers. All of them gather with their own cheese on this day at Trujillo.
This event attracts thousands and thousands of cheese lovers from all over the world and they all agree on the fact that it is perfect holiday destination to make your tummy happy. It is the biggest cheese fair compared to the others that are observed in different places.
This festival is generally held at the city’s Main Square or the Plaza Mayor. More than hundreds of stands filled with the finest cheese from Spain as well as from all over the world forms an irresistible picture. It is a treat for eyes and of course the taste buds too.
Many local farmers and cheese makers of Trujillo have developed their own cheese from the milk of goat or sheep and sell them in this cheese fair. In addition to this, there are stalls of wine and beer that forms an amazing combination to be had with cheese and also refreshes the taste buds.
This festival gives an amazing opportunity to the visitors to taste various type of cheese that are extremely rare and not found anywhere in the world outside the Extremadura area. Most of the cheeses are mainly made from goat and sheep milk in the Extremadura region. Torta Del Casar, Los Ibores and Torta La Serena are the three main types of regional or local cheese found here.
- Torta Del Casar
This is one of the most famous cheeses of Extremadura and is made from the sheep’s milk. It is usually eaten by slicing off the topmost part and using the creamy part to form a layer over a thick bread crust. It is also traditionally used to form the topping of a cake made up of meat, minced beef and onion.
- Torta La Serena
This cheese is made from the milk of Merino sheep and it eaten by slicing it open at the topmost part. A slight nutty flavor is brought out when the cheese is warmed before consuming and that is how people prefer to have it.
- Los Ibores
This cheese is made in the Ybor valley from the Serranas goat’s milk. It has been made since the 15th century and has a slight salty and spicy flavor to it which makes it different from the others.
Cheese Festivals in Other Places
- The Great British Cheese Festival- Britain has the biggest cheese market and hence we can deduce how much the people of UK love cheese. This festival takes place in late September every year and over 400 types of cheese are made from the milk of sheep, cow, goat and buffalo. The location keeps on changing each year but the hype remains the same. The event also sells beer, wine, cider and Perry which is a fermented drink made from pears.
- Vermont’s Cheese making festival– Vermont is America’s leading state in cheese making and this festival gives a perfect opportunity for the cheese lovers to meet the cheese makers. This is held at the Shelburne Farms on the shore side of Lake Champlain every July and includes attractions like cooking demonstrations, food and wine tasting, seminars and a huge amount of cheese.
- The Great Canadian Cheese Festival– Splendid artisan cheese has been produced by Canada since decades. This festival was first observed in the year 2010 and has been happening every year in the month of June since then. This event takes place in Prince Edward Country, Ontario which is also the newest wine region of Canada. The highlights of this event include cheese tours, cheese tasting and famous chefs preparing dishes of cheese with Ontario wine and beer.