El Trigal Brand Manchego Receives Top Ranking at Superior Taste Awards 2017

Forever Cheese, importer of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Croatian cheese and specialty foods, has won a Superior Taste Award of three stars for its El Trigal brand of Manchego cheese. Products submitted for these awards are evaluated based on their overall taste, texture, aroma and appearance, and are given a score up to 100 percent. Those scoring 90 percent and above are given three stars for exceptional taste, which is the highest honor.

The International Taste & Quality Institute (iTQi) gives out the Superior Taste Awards once a year in Europe. The jury is made up of 135 Michelin-starred chefs and Sommeliers who come from prestigious culinary organizations, such as l’Academie Culinaire de France and the Academy of Culinary Arts. The members participate in rigorous sensory analysis of each product. The tastings are performed blind and products are not compared to each other; each is evaluated on its own merit.

El Trigal Manchego is made outside of Toledo, Spain, by the Corcuera family. They have been making Manchego for more than 70 years and played a key role in establishing the protected designation of origin for the cheese. They make 3 Month, 6 Month, Raw 8 Month, 1 Year and Reserva (15 month) Manchego, which are sold under the El Trigal brand in the U.S.

Michele Buster, of Forever Cheese, first connected with the Corcuera family in 1996, where she sampled their Manchego in a parking garage in Madrid. Since then, she has worked to import their cheese to the U.S. “I’m very proud of our close relationship and all that we have accomplished together,” Buster says. “This award is well deserved and an indication of the consistent high quality of their cheese.”

Queso Manchego DOP is a Spanish pressed sheep’s milk cheese aged a maximum of two years. It must be made from Manchega sheep’s milk in the province of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, or Toledo in Castilla-La Mancha. The cheese is firm and compact with lots of butterfat and a savory flavor that grows more intense over time. El Trigal aged Manchego is complex and full flavored with aromas of buttered popcorn. It can be found at many cheese and specialty shops throughout the U.S.