All the Oregon Cheese Wins at the American Cheese Society’s Annual Competition
Portland, Ore. – Oregon artisan, farmstead, and specialty cheesemakers took home 14 medals, including blue ribbons in five categories; and Don Froylan Creamery’s Liliana’s String Cheese defended its title for best string cheese at the American Cheese Society’s (ACS) 2024 Annual Cheese Competition.
The awards were announced July 11th at the ACS’s Annual Conference in Buffalo, New York. Five Oregon cheesemakers earned honors and Oregon cheeses landed repeat wins in two categories. Face Rock Creamery’s Peppercorn Harvest Clothbound Cheddar won 1st place in its category for the third year in a row. Don Froylan Creamery won first for Liliana’s String Cheese, repeating their win from 2023, and solidly earning the title of Best String Cheese in America. “This cheese was created with love for and named after our daughter Liliana. You can come and see it stretched by hand every day at our tasting room in Salem,” beamed Francisco Ochoa, owner and cheesemaker at Don Froylan.
There were a total of 1,596 products entered by 228 companies from North and South America in this year’s competition, the nation’s largest. A list of Oregon’s awards is below, and a full list of winners can be found here.
The public will be able to taste this year’s winners from Oregon and beyond at Portland’s celebration of cheese and all things that go with it, The Wedge, September 28th at Alder Block. Other opportunities to taste competition winners and other delicious Oregon cheeses are at our retail partners statewide during Oregon Cheese Month in September, at the Oregon Cheese Festival in Central Point, and at creameries around the state on the Oregon Cheese & Food Trail.
2024 American Cheese Competition Awards
Oregon Winners by Category & Subcategory
Cheese Curds
2nd: Plain Cheddar Curds, Face Rock Creamery, Bandon
Cheddar aged 24 months through 47 months, all milks
2nd: Tillamook Maker’s Extra Sharp White Cheddar 2021, Tillamook
Cheddar aged 24 months through 47 months, all milks
3rd: Tillamook Maker’s Extra Sharp White Cheddar 2014, Tillamook
Soft-Ripened Cheeses, cow’s milk
2nd: Butterbloom, Briar Rose Creamery, Dundee
Hispanic fresh cheeses
1st: Don Froylan Queso Panela, Don Froylan Creamery, Salem
Hispanic cooking cheeses
2nd: Don Froylan Queso Oaxaca, Don Froylan Creamery, Salem
String cheese (Mozzarella types)
1st: Liliana’s String Cheese, Don Froylan Creamery, Salem
Feta
1st: Fata Morgana, Briar Rose Creamery, Dundee
Smoked Cheddars
2nd: Smokey Cheddar, Face Rock Creamery, Bandon
3rd: Tillamook Hickory Smoked Extra Sharp White Cheddar, Tillamook
Cheddar with Flavor Added
1st: Peppercorn Harvest Clothbound Cheddar, Face Rock Creamery, Bandon
American Originals with Flavor Added
2nd: Tillamook Spicy Habanero Jack, Tillamook
Dry Jack
1st: Cocoa Rubbed Dry Jack, Walla Walla Cheese Co., Milton-Freewater
3rd: Tillamook Monterey Jack, Tillamook
Founded in 2006, the Oregon Cheese Guild is a collaborative effort to increase awareness of Oregon’s artisanal cheeses, create educational opportunities, and provide a platform for cooperation and shared resources among Oregon cheesemakers.
