Record Gold medals for Beemster cheeses

Eight cheeses from CONO Cheesemakers: Beemster Jong, Beemster Belegen, Royaal, Royaal Grand Cru, Oude and Extra Oude Beemster, X-O and Beemster Goat cheese won Gold at the DLG Awards in Germany, the prestigious cheese awards in the international cheese world. Every year in July, the Deutschen Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft (DLG) medals are awarded to cheeses that score highest on the quality characteristics: taste, appearance, smell and consistency. Following on from previous years, Beemster was once again rewarded with multiple medals, this year with 8 gold medals, a record for the trophy cabinet.

Cheesemaster at CONO Kaasmakers is Sjoerd Hiemstra, "Since 2005 we have been participating in this German cheese inspection, never before have so many of our cheeses been rewarded with gold medals. We are extra proud this year because Beemster Oud, X-O- and Royaal Grand Cru have won gold medals for several years in a row. This result is a wonderful culmination of our continuous efforts to make the best quality cheese."

Every year, the DLG-Testzentrums Lebensmittel in Frankfurt inspects hundreds of cheeses in various classes. The cheeses are called out unannounced each year to submit for inspection. Only cheeses that score high on all quality components qualify for a gold DLG qualification.