What Makes a Cheese a Winner? A Cheese Judge Shows You How to Judge a Cheese

An international Cheese Judge, Cheese Monger and Cheese Book Author shows you what to look for in a cheese. What are the factors that make a cheese a grand prize winner? Here's one way to find out -- ask a cheese judge!

Gurth Pretty shows viewers all the criteria that cheese judges use to evaluate cheeses at international cheese competitions. He's a cheese expert; he's been an international cheese judge several times (most recently at Wisconsin's World Championship Cheese Contest in 2024). He's a cheese monger at his own cheese shop (Lakeview Cheese Galore, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada), and he has written (and co-authored) cheese books.

Mary Anne, a cheesemaking hobbyist and host of "Give Cheese a Chance", courageously presents Gurth with 2 of her home-made cheeses and (without knowing anything about them in advance) Gurth gets busy evaluating the strengths & weaknesses of each cheese. Mary Anne learns valuable information about how to improve her home-made cheeses, both technically and aesthetically, from detailed feedback.Gurth explains the techniques a Cheese Judge would use to evaluate the various cheese characteristics--their appearance, texture, flavour and aroma. He demonstrates how to "thumb" a cheese to discover its texture. He also explains how cheese judges limit bias during a competition.

The cheeses made in this video are camembert-style and triple cream-style cheeses made in Mary Anne's own kitchen. You can make these at home too by following these recipes (copy & paste into your browser):
Camembert style cheese: • How to Make a Camembert-Style Cheese ...
Triple Cream Style cheese: • How to make a Triple Cream cheese lik...

To get in touch with Gurth Pretty, you can reach him at:
Lakeview Cheese Galore, 848 Lakeshore Rd E, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, L5E 1E1
or by telephone at tel: 1-905-274-7775
or by email at: [email protected]

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See other videos on this Youtube channel to learn how to make: akkawi, triple cream cheese, roquefort (blue), camembert & brie-style cheeses, cheddar, feta, mascarpone, quick mozzarella, cream cheese, whole milk ricotta, labneh, nabulsi, belper knolle, colby, yogurt, labneh, as well as crottin, valencay, chèvre and boursin-style cheeses.

The music in this video "Jazz Mango" is royalty free, offered by Youtube.

Thank you for watching!