Recognition for a product not only for being exquisite and appealing to almost everyone, but also for maintaining traditions, generating employment, and creating a generational succession of ancestral trades that adapt to innovation. The awards for the best goat's cheeses in the province seek to highlight all of this and also give cheesemakers the opportunity to join the Sabor a Málaga promotional circuit. This was stated during the event by the director of this initiative, Leonor García-Agua, who praised the participating cheesemakers, "most of them are small, artisan producers, although it is true that some are now much stronger cooperatives, but most are still artisans, from our inland villages, from all the regions, who make wonderful cheeses, so the aim is to showcase them and let people know about the wide variety of cheeses we have in the province of Málaga".

A tasting full of flavour and aroma

The tasting took place on Friday morning at CIOMijas, where the jury had to deliberate between a total of 61 types of cheese from six different varieties, produced by eleven cheesemakers in the province located in Alhaurín el Grande, Antequera, Campillos, Casabermeja, Casares, Coín, Colmenar, Vélez-Málaga, Villanueva de la Concepción and Yunquera.

Of the total number of samples, eight were fresh cheeses, thirteen were semi-cured cheeses, nine were cured cheeses made from raw milk, fifteen were cured goat's cheeses made from pasteurised milk, eight were soft cheeses and eight had seasonings inside or innovative coatings.

The jury was chaired by García-Agua and comprised experts from different parts of Spain, including Esther María Alfaro Ruiz, specialist in cheese-making, sensory analysis and cheese pairings, as well as a judge at the Salón Gourmet National Cheese Competition in Madrid and the Andalusian Cheese Fair; Sara Fregeneda López, CEO of Quesería La Antigua y Gestión Agro Ganadera, and president of the Zamora International Dairy Industry School Foundation; Ignacio González Gómez Sandoval, expert in gastronomic marketing; and Francisco Javier García Caro, a sommelier and cheese expert.

Paco García, a jury member, said that "cheesemakers are making it increasingly difficult for us, as the cheese heritage we have in Malaga is becoming more and more varied and diverse. It really is challenging, but here we are. We have been tasting cheese for many years and have witnessed the evolution of Malaga's cheeses, so I am happy to be here and be able to score them".

 

Jury's decision

▪ Best fresh goat's cheese in the province of Malaga 2025: 'El Arquillo fresh goat's cheese' from Arquillo Agrícola y Ganadera, SA.

▪ Best semi-cured cheese: 'Queso Semicurado Montes de Málaga' from the producer Agrupación Ganaderos de los Montes, SCA.

▪ Best cured goat's cheese made with pasteurised milk: 'Curado de cabra Payoya ecológico en pastoreo' from Juan José Ocaña (Quesos Crestellina).

▪ Best cured goat's cheese made with raw milk: 'Montes de Málaga natural reserve cheese with paprika', from Agrupación Ganaderos de los Montes SCA.

▪ Best goat's cheese with seasoning inside and/or innovative coating: 'Romántico', from the company Santa María del Cerro, SL.

▪ Best soft goat's cheese: 'Capra El Pastor del Valle', by Lácteos El Pastor del Valle, SL. Runner-up prize for the second best soft goat's cheese: “Queso Azul de Cabra”, by Cabraline, SL.

Economic driver

There are currently 22 cheesemakers in the province of Málaga, generally organised around family-run artisan farms. This sector is an important economic driver, promoting sustainability and addressing the demographic challenge, as highlighted by Juan Carlos Maldonado (PMP), councillor for Economic Development at the Mijas Town Hall: "This is an important economic driver in the province of Malaga, a hallmark of identity, and it is also very significant that it is taking place at the CIO, the centre of excellence for the hospitality industry, because ultimately, these local products give our gastronomic offering greater identity and, above all, greater value. The Town Hall welcomes this initiative and supports it".

 

Best Goat Cheese

The prize is worth 28,980 euros (4,600 euros for each of the six categories and 1,380 euros to be distributed among the runners-up) for the purchase of products for promotional activities. In addition, the winning cheeses will display the award on their labels and will enter the national and international promotion and marketing circuit of the Sabor a Málaga brand.

The Award for the Best Goat Cheese in the Province of Málaga was created following the success of other established awards organised by the Provincial Council to promote Málaga's olive oils and wines.

In 2017, the first edition of this award was held with the aim of promoting, raising awareness of, and supporting the improvement, dissemination and marketing of goat's cheese, a product with a long tradition in the province of Málaga, which is home to the largest concentration of goats in Europe and a native breed, the Málaga goat, renowned for its high milk production.

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