A Salem creamery known for its traditional Mexican cheeses has picked up a major new honor in 2026, with Don Froylan Creamery’s Liliana’s String Cheese earning Best of Class at the World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, Wisconsin. The result gives Salem a fresh business and food story with real weight: this is one of the cheese industry’s top competitions, and winning there puts a local producer in a very different category than ordinary regional recognition.
“This cheese was created with love for and named after our daughter Liliana,” said Don Froylan’s owner and cheesemaker, Francisco Ochoa, in a statement sent out by the Oregon Cheese Guild
For Don Froylan, the win says something more important than “nice award.” It shows that a company built around culturally specific, hands-on cheesemaking can compete at the highest level of international judging. Based in Salem, Don Froylan has built its identity around authentic Mexican cheeses made from family recipes and traditional methods. That focus is part of what makes the business stand out in Oregon’s food manufacturing scene, where most of the better-known dairy names are tied to more familiar mainstream cheese categories…