Champion sheep cheese puts island in the spotlight
(9 Oct 2017) LEADIN:
Cheese makers on the Island of Pag in Croatia are struggling to keep up with demand for their award-winning ewe's milk cheese.
'Paski Sir' has food critics in awe of its salty, aromatic flavour and has been named one of the world's best cheeses.
STORYLINE
Shelf after shelf of award-winning cheese.
This hard sheep cheese has thrust the Croatian island of Pag into the spotlight.
'Paski Sir' came first in the sheep milk category at the World Cheese Awards this year.
It's produced by the company Paska Sirana, which has seen a surge in demand for its salty cheese, made from the milk of the island's native sheep, the Paska Ovca.
Paska Sirana assistant director Martina Pernar says the island's particular landscape and climate are what make the cheese so special.
They often ask us what is the secret of Pag Cheese and we like to say there is actually no secret. The secret is Pag island, its bare karst (porous rock formations) with vegetation that is very scarce, but very special, full of aromatic herbs and salt that the 'bora' wind brings during winter. Our sheep on the island of Pag eat grass from our pastures and that's what makes their milk and cheese special, in every sense of the word.
The company is seeing increasing global interest in its product, but says the amount they are able to export is limited.
Since 2010 we have been exporting to the United States and we export around five tons of cheese a year, which is small quantity as America is a huge market. However, as our production is limited, it is less about the quantity of cheese exported, and more the promotion that makes us happy. This is thanks to the Forever Cheese company that we work with, says Pernar.
Only the most resilient plant life can survive on the arid, windy island of Pag.
The local ship live on a diet of these hardy plants, including herbs such as sage and rosemary, and that's what gives the cheese its aromatic flavour.
The Pag island sheep is the smallest sort of the Pramenka breed, adapted to this locality and this bare terrain, where there is not much pasture, so there is a lack of food, but the food is concentrated, says local agronomist Luka Kurilic.
Due to drought and microlocation there are many herbs that are concentrated. Because of that, both the lamb meat and the sheeps' milk, which is used for producing cheese, has a specific taste.
On the mainland, to the eastern side of Pag, lies Croatia's Velebit mountain range, where some of the strongest 'Bora' winds blow in winter.
The 'Bora' is a northerly wind that can be felt all the way down the Adriatic east coast.
It carries salt from the sea onto the island, which finds its way into the food chain - making the ewes' milk salty.
It is about salt, which is brought by on the wind from the continent and collected from the sea. It is brought to our pastures and the sheep eat salty grass, which causes the specific taste of the meat and cheese, says Kurilic.
Rene Bakalovic, a cheese and wine expert who has been called Croatia's answer to Jaime Oliver, says he has tasted the special ewe's milk used to make Paski Sir.
I like 'Paski Sir', cheese from Pag, even before it becomes cheese. Once I milked a sheep, it was late August, it was the end of lactation and what was really strange, only few drops of milk I could milk and the milk was salty - unbelievable.
The cheese is usually aged for four months before it is sold.
But Bakalovic says a really well-aged cheese is even more delicious, although it doesn't look very appetising.
Paski Sir is usually served with fresh fruit such grapes, wildflower honey or olive oil.
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Cycling from Greece to England Vlog Day 29 - Kolan to Senj in Croatia
It was time to cycle across Pag island, and catch the ferry back to mainland Croatia. This was perhaps the toughest day of the bicycle touring trip from Greece to England so far, with a total of 1000 metres ascent gained throughout the day.
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MIH Sirana - Otok Pag - Kolan
Proizvodnja Paškog sira, tradicija obitelji Pernjak od 1890. g.
Najbolji sir na svijetu proizvodi se u komšiluku
Rijeka; posljednja sirana na Grobniku!
Iznad Grobnika preživjela je samo jedna sirana!
Od davnina su se Grobničani bavili stočarstvom, proizvodnjom kravljeg mlijeka i sira. I sve uspijevali prodati naravno u Rijeci. No malo je toga ostalo od domaćeg mljekarstva, pa tako i ovdje. Iznad Grobnika preživjela je samo jedna sirana.
Ondje gdje su po Grobniku hodali Frankopani, danas je sirana Frankulin. 'Od vavek' je tu bilo blaga, a obitelj Kamenar samo ga je brojčano povećala. Pedesetak krava, junica, teladi i dva bika idu na ispašu svaki dan tri sata. I otprilike 300 litara kvalitetnog mlijeka na dan odlazi u proizvodnju sira.
Sve kravlje mlijeko ide u tvrdi zreli sir, slani grobnički, sir škripavac, skutu te po narudžbi u razne polutvrde sireve sa začinima od papra, crvene paprike, bosiljka, do tartufa. U ovoj sirani, koja radi dvanaest godina, jedna je sirarica. A ona priznaje da bi tu mogla biti i dvadeset četiri sata na dan.
- Ja uživam u ovom poslu. Da ne uživam ne bih to delala. I meni ne igra ulogu je li ponedjeljak ili utorak, petak ili nedjelja. Ako treba delat', ja ću delat'. Ja ću poći i na sajam i nekad i za blagdan - i ujutro i navečer. Jer čovjek mora voljeti ono što radi - kaže sirarica Marica Gulić.
Udruženim snagama, a ovdje ih ne manjka, proizvod dobiva i na kvaliteti. Naime, sir Frankulin ima i certifikate za kvalitetu. Pomažu svi članovi obitelji - od djece do starijih, pa i susjedi.
- Idu ljudi sve više na te domaće proizvode. To je skuplje i mora biti skuplje, drukčije od tvorničkih i poljoprivrednih, ručna je uvijek skuplja - kad vi imate malo i potrošite energije. Vidjeti kako će biti, za sada ide to na bolje - otkriva nam Aleksandar Kamenar, vlasnik sirane Frankulin.
Marica je završila školu za siraricu i sama je naučila kombinirati okuse. Grobničani najviše vole svoj autohtoni slani sir, specifičan po mnogo soli. Ne mogu ga toliko proizvesti, kažu, koliki je za njega interes.
Imaju i kupce koji im se vraćaju već deset godina. A naiđu po sir na imanje i strani turisti, iako su na tržištu na riječkoj tržnici i u trgovinama zdrave hrane. Koliko se god zaradi, još se više i potroši. Poticaj im nije velik, a za pašnjak je u proceduri. A budu li i više od pola godine na pozitivnoj nuli, planovi su iz starine u dvorištu napraviti za početak i kušaonicu sira.
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Pag cheese | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Pag cheese
00:00:22 1 History
00:01:43 2 Production process
00:03:04 3 Certification
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SUMMARY
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Pag cheese or Pag Island cheese (Croatian: Paški sir, [pâːʃkiː sîr]) is a Croatian variety of hard, distinctively flavored sheep milk cheese originating from the Adriatic island of Pag. It is generally regarded as the most famous of all artisan cheeses made in the country and can be found in many markets outside Croatia.
Kascergani - mljekara - sirana Orbanic... u kupovini mlijeka, sira i jogurta...