A wheel of cheese sold for nearly Rs 26.5 lakh, making it the world's most expensive

The record setting cheese is a Spanish Cabrales blue cheese weighing 4.8 pounds. (Representational image)

A Spanish Cabrales blue cheese has shattered records, commanding an astonishing price of over $32,000 (Rs 26.48 lakh) at a local cheese festival. The wheel of dairy decadence, weighing 2.17 kg, clinched its place in history by securing a new Guinness World Record for the highest price ever paid for cheese.

"We knew we had a good cheese but also that it is very difficult to win," revealed Guillermo Pendás, the creator of the cheese. Pendás, hailing from the family factory in Los Puertos, told Spanish news agency Efe, as reported by the Times of London.

The celebrated cheese, which carries the notes of the Asturias mountain caves in Northern Spain, was auctioned off recently. This triumph followed its coveted title as the best Cabrales of the year at the esteemed Las Arenas’ 51st annual cheese competition.

Iván Suárez, the proprietor of El Llagar de Colloto restaurant near Oviedo, emerged as the owner of this cheese. He also acquired the previous Guinness World Record-setting cheese, another Cabrales in 2019 for €20,500 (Rs 18.42 lakh).

The making of the cheese commences with carefully selected raw cow's milk, often blended with milk from sheep and goats. After four months of meticulous aging within the mountainous enclaves of the Cabrales region, a 4,593 feet cave, kept at a steady 44.6F, becomes the maturation chamber for a minimum of eight months.

The wheel underwent its transformation within a cave nestled in the small town of "Póo [high place] de Cabrales," a locale so quaint that streets remain unnamed.

Post aging, the creation embarks on a descent from the mountain's peak to the nearby road, an hour-long trek by foot. Its journey culminates in a price range of $30-$35 for a little over two pounds, equivalent to the cost of a premium steak on the wholesale market.