Kazakh Camel Milk Cheese to Receive a Separate Category at the World Cheese Awards for the First Time
Sourse: liter.kz
A historic achievement for Kazakh cheesemaking: starting in 2026, camel milk cheeses will receive official recognition at one of the world's largest cheese competitions – the World Cheese Awards. This became possible thanks to years of effort and successful performances by cheesemakers from the Mangystau region.
According to the Mangystau Region Public Communications Center, Kazakh producers successfully passed all necessary qualification stages, allowing for the introduction of a new category for camel milk cheeses. Previously, there was no separate category for this unique product on the world stage.
Mangystau cheesemakers Alexandra Grigolova and Nikita Kobzev shared that developing cheese production technologies from camel milk, traditionally considered unsuitable for cheesemaking, took 8 months of intensive scientific research and testing. Their participation in the Mondial du Fromage competition in 2023 was a turning point: after their success, the French competition introduced a category for camel cheese, and the Kazakh cheesemakers won a gold medal at the world championship this year.
Successfully meeting the three-year qualification requirements led to the prestigious World Cheese Awards, which featured 5,244 cheeses from 46 countries this year, including "camel cheese" among the official categories. The next competition, to be held in November 2026 in Spain, will allow camel cheese producers from around the world to compete in a separate category for the first time.
Mangystau cheesemakers Alexandra Grigolova and Nikita Kobzev shared that developing cheese production technologies from camel milk, traditionally considered unsuitable for cheesemaking, took 8 months of intensive scientific research and testing. Their participation in the Mondial du Fromage competition in 2023 was a turning point: after their success, the French competition introduced a category for camel cheese, and the Kazakh cheesemakers won a gold medal at the world championship this year.
Successfully meeting the three-year qualification requirements led to the prestigious World Cheese Awards, which featured 5,244 cheeses from 46 countries this year, including "camel cheese" among the official categories. The next competition, to be held in November 2026 in Spain, will allow camel cheese producers from around the world to compete in a separate category for the first time.
