Croatian cheese: Gligora wins more prestigious world awards

26 September 2020 – Croatian cheese producer Sirana Gligora from the island of Pag has collected more international awards.

Sirana Gligora has attended two prestigious international competitions – the World Championship Cheese Contest (WCCC) held in Wisconsin and the Great Taste Awards 2020 in the UK. 

The WCCC was held just before the lockdown and the following Gligora cheeses were awarded:

Best in class – Dinarski cheese aged in pressed wine grapes
Second prize – Žigljen aged in olive press, Likotin
Third prize – Kordun cheese, Kolan cheese aged in pressed wine grapes

At the Great Taste Awards 2020, Gligora’s Paški cheese was awarded two stars, and Kozlar aged in olive press was awarded one star.

“With this, we confirmed the continuity of the quality of Pag cheese and refined cheeses because Likotin refined in the olive press last year won a maximum of three stars,” Gligora said. 

The Great Taste Awards was founded in 1994 and is also known as the seal of excellence, the Guild of Fine Food’s Great Taste Award rewards above all taste, and all products are removed from the packaging before tasting. 

This year 144 judges were present, among them; food critics, chefs, caterers, retailers, producers, gastro journalists, journalists and influencers. All of the above have decided which products deserve one, two or three stars. 

More awards for Gligora – Great Taste 2020

Judging began just before the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 situation, and the proceedings dragged on into the fall. This year, more than 12,700 products were registered, and 5,294 products were awarded.

In addition to Sirana Gligora, seven other representatives from Croatia participated, and Varžak Mediterra and Volim Ljuto should be singled out, whose products can be found in Gligora stores.

We single out the judges’ reviews for the awarded cheeses: 

PAŠKI CHEESE: “Quite pale yellow in colour, with a beautiful thick orange rind – this cheese is certainly visually appealing. It has a fermented spicy aroma and a fresh scent of herbs. The texture is hard but not overly crumbly, and melts in your mouth due to its high-fat content.”

“The taste in the mouth is long-lasting, with good salinity and black pepper substrates. It is also an extremely creamy hard cheese, very tasty on the whole. Visually pleasant and exciting crust. The texture is thick, pleasant, decomposes well in the mouth. There is a slight smokiness of this cheese which we found very intriguing. Satisfactory and balanced levels of salt and fruity notes are present. Excellent melting sensation in the mouth and crystallisation on the tongue.” 

KOZLAR AGED IN OLIVE PRESS: “Delicious goat’s milk cheese, authentic look with pale yellow paste and rustically washed rind. There was a lovely natural, fresh, goat’s, grassy aroma. The paste was firm. and creamy, with a little crunchiness of lactate crystals, and the taste was complex, with a lot of nuttiness, sweetness, tenderness.”

“A firm, ripe cheese with an attractive rind, an artisan look and a sharp ripe flavour. The flavours are complex and lively, with a mixture of salty and sweet notes, sharp and grassy, ​​with nutty edges and a delicate goat, creamy richness that is really well balanced.”