Cheeses stored in Alagoa, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, on December 1, 2021 (AFP / DOUGLAS MAGNO)
To get to Rita de Cassia’s farm, in the middle of the green hills of south-eastern Brazil, you have to ask for directions: no sign or GPS signal. But the cheese she makes in an artisanal way is worth the detour.
Named “Garrafao” (large bottle), it is one of the 57 Brazilian products to have won a medal at the Mondial du Fromage et des Produits Daitiers in September in Tours (France).
Despite a still little-known terroir, Brazil has thus risen to the second world rank of the most awarded cheeses, behind France.
“What do they eat your cows to give a cheese with so much taste?” Asked, admiringly, French producers during the Mondial, according to Debora de Carvalho, director of SerTaoBras, an association for the promotion of artisan cheeses Brazilian.
The answers can be found in the south of the state of Minas Gerais, a bucolic region where the crème de la crème of Brazilian cheeses is lovingly made.
It is especially made in the vicinity of Alagoa, a small village nestled in the rolling countryside where Portuguese settlers arrived 300 years ago to search for gold.
Cheese has been made there since the installation at the beginning of the 20th century of Paschoal Poppa, an Italian cobbler who came up with a recipe for Parmesan.
Aerial view of the surroundings of Alagoa, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, on December 1, 2021 (AFP / DOUGLAS MAGNO)
Today, there are 135 cheese producers in Alagoa: a drop in the bucket among the 35,000 professionals in the sector in Minas Gerais, but a large number of them have won medals in France.
On the front of the cheese factories in the village, you can see an Eiffel Tower in yellow and green cardboard (two colors of the Brazilian flag) which reminds you that you can find “one of the best cheeses in the world, awarded at the Mondial du Fromage”.
– Rustic production –
The medals won in France “have changed our lives”, told AFP Dirce Martins, who has been making cheese for 39 years.
Cheeses stored in Cruzilia, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, on December 1, 2021 (AFP / DOUGLAS MAGNO)
“Before, nobody came here. We bought our cheese for three times nothing. Now we have a lot of visitors,” she explains, pointing to the wooden shelves on which she is refining her “Fumacé”.
Its cows graze at an altitude of around 1,500 m, on pastures of great microbiological richness.
With her son and her husband, Ms. Martins, winner of several medals at the World Cup since 2017, she produces a maximum of 60 smoked cheeses per day.
Rita de Cassia produces 15 kilos of cheese daily with about fifteen dairy cows, including “France, Denmark or Spain”, all named after European countries.
“It’s hard work, we work from 6 am to 10 pm,” says this 32-year-old teacher, who does not lift off even when pregnant with her second child.
“The competition is tough,” she says, explaining how she and her husband take care of artificial insemination of cows.
“It’s a real passion. Cheese is almost a living being,” says Rita, who learned the trade from her stepfather.
Milking cows in Alagoa, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, on December 1, 2021 (AFP / DOUGLAS MAGNO)
Thanks to the silver medal won in France, it now sells its products to traders in large cities such as Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo.
They do not hesitate to take a long stony road to buy their rounded cheeses on the spot, 45 réais each (around 7 euros).
“The World Cup gave us a lot of visibility,” she sums up.
– Legal issues –
“For a French cheese, a World Cup medal represents an increase of around 20% in market value. In Brazil, it is of the order of 300 to 400%”, explains Debora de Carvalho.
Cheeses stored in Cruzilia, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, on December 1, 2021 (AFP / DOUGLAS MAGNO)
Thanks to the medals, “the Brazilians are starting to look at what is being done here and to showcase their land”.
But this world-renowned excellence is hampered in Brazil by very rigid legislation, inspired by health regulations in force in the United States, with “more than 900 standards” to be observed.
Most of the region’s products therefore only benefit from a municipal sales authorization. It is forbidden to market them in other regions of the country or to export them.
“We are trying to put pressure on the government for a legalization of artisanal cheese at the federal level”, insists Debora de Carvalho.
© 2021 AFP
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