Podhale region bryndza cheese

The Podhale region bryndza cheese is one of the most famous cheeses from Tatra Mountains. The oldest references to bryndza date back to 1527. Making sheep’s cheese used to be an indispensable element of sheep pasturage in the Podhale region. Shepherds who went to the mountains with their sheep spent several months out there. They ate almost exclusively sheep milk and dairy products at that time. The knowledge of the way and rules of making Podhale region bryndza has been handed down from generation to generation and has now become art whose arcana are known only to producers form this specific region. This exceptional cheese is available thanks to merging natural ingredients, specific skills and adherence to a traditional recipe. The traditional manufacturing method guarantees an original product of the highest quality and original taste. The name bryndza derives from the Romanian word brinze used by Vlach shepherds who pastured sheep on mountain clearings.

The quality of the final product has surely to do with the extraordinary place of its origin. It derives, inter alia, from rich and diverse flora of the region. There are many species endemic to Podhale region that make up the undergrowth of meadows, pastures and mountain pastures. The areas where Podhale region bryndza is manufactured are among the cleanest regions in Poland and in Europe. The area is surrounded by four national parks: Gorce Mountains National Park from the north, Tatra Mountains National Park from the south, Babia Góra National Park from the west and Magura National Park from the east. The fifth national park, namely Pieniny Mountains National Park, is situated in the heart of the region. Bryndza cheese owes its exquisite taste to its ingredients. The milk used to make it comes from ewes, specifically the Polish mountain sheep breed. Sometimes cow’s milk from the Polish red cow breed is added.

https://pl.fotolia.com/id/32490624
Where to buy: http://www.trzyznakismaku.pl/produkty/bryndza-podhalanska
Producers: http://www.trzyznakismaku.pl/producenci/bryndza-podhalanska
Source of information: http://www.minrol.gov.pl/pol/Jakosc-zywnosci/Produkty-regionalne-i-tradycyjne/Lista-produktow-tradycyjnych/woj.-malopolskie/Bryndza-podhalanska