This cheese is the gratest.
The World Cheese Awards, held earlier this month in Viseu, Portugal, has declared one US-based brand as having the best cheddar cheese in the world, and you can get it at any grocery store.
The annual awards are hosted by a different country each year, with the Guild of Fine Food, to judge over 4,000 cheeses from over 40 countries.
The winning cheddar cheese can is right here in the United States — in Oregon, to be exact.
Judges declared Tillamook County Creamery Association as the maker of the “Best Cheddar in the World” in 2024 for its Maker’s Reserve 2014 Extra Sharp White Cheddar.
Tillamook’s trophy-winning cheddar is extra sharp with notes of brown butter and caramel.
The cheese is part of the brand’s Maker’s Reserve Program, which focuses on aging cheese. Each year, the brand releases four consecutive vintages that have been aged for at least three years, plus one 10-year vintage cheese.
“We are so proud of our Tillamook Maker’s Reserve program and are honored that our 2014 Maker’s Reserve Extra Sharp White Cheddar took home the award for best cheddar in the world,” Jill Allen, Tillamook’s director of product excellence, told Food & Wine.
After the cheeses naturally age, Allen and her team of tasting experts at Tillamook grade each batch to decide which ones will be chosen for that year’s vintage release.
“Our Maker’s Reserve Cheddars are truly special and reflect the all-important factor of time,” Allen shared. “Our aging process transforms the cheese into an unforgettable tasting experience.”
The 115-year-old farmer-owned co-op also snagged two bronze-level awards at this year’s World Cheese Awards for their Farmers’ Collection Hickory Smoked Extra Sharp White Cheddar and Farmers’ Collection English-Style Sweet Cheddar.
But Tillamook wasn’t the only American brand to take home the gold.
Jasper Hill Farm was awarded a Super Gold medal with the World Cheese Awards Trophy for “Best American Cheese” in 2024 for its Bayley Hazen Blue.
The Vermont-based farm was also awarded two gold medals for its Harbison cheese and Vault 5 Cave Aged cheddar; four silver medals for its Cabot Clothbound, Caspian, Moses Sleepe and Alpha Tolman cheeses; and one bronze for its Willoughby cheese.
This year marked the largest World Cheese Awards ever with 1,032 companies from 47 countries competing 4,786 cheeses, according to F&W.
The United States came in fourth overall with 160 total medals, following the top three of Spain, Italy and Switzerland.
