Bryndza Podhalańska

Appearance & taste

Bryndza Podhalańska is white or creamy white, sometimes with a delicate green tinge. The taste is sharp, more or less salty and at times slightly sour. The cheese contains at most 60 % water and at least 38 % fat in dry matter. Besides the name “BRYNDZA PODHALAŃSKA”, the packaging bears the logo or the words “Chroniona Nazwa Pochodzenia” (protected designation of origin), also abbreviated to “Ch.N.P.”.

Production

The sheep’s milk comes from the Polish Mountain Sheep (Polska Owca Górska). If cow’s milk is added, it must come from Polish Red cattle (Polska Krowa Czerwona) and may make up at most 40 % of the milk. It is made only from May to September.

The milk is curdled with rennet and the curd is cut; once curds and whey have separated, the whey is drawn off and the cheese mass is drained. The raw cheese then ripens and ferments, is crushed into small pieces, mixed with salt and packed firmly into the container. This is how Bryndza is made. Only producers entered in a register may make it.

Origin & history

The area comprises Nowy Targ district, Tatra district and six municipalities of Żywiec district: Milówka, Węgierska Górka, Rajcza, Ujsoły, Jeleśnia and Koszarawa. The region in the Tatra foothills is traditionally called “Podhale”, hence the name of the cheese. Meadows, pastures and mountain pastures support a rich flora, according to the specification often with endemic species that occur only in Podhale. The Polish Mountain Sheep is closely linked to the history and traditions of the region, and Polish Red cattle are a native breed.

According to the specification, Bryndza is first mentioned in 1527, in literature, landowners’ ordinances and royal decrees. Written records show that the cheese served as a means of payment in the area and in 1683 was part of tribute payments. For centuries cheesemaking was tied to the grazing of the sheep: in summer the shepherds drove the flocks up to the mountain pastures and lived there for several months almost entirely on sheep’s milk and the products made from it. The knowledge of how to make it was passed down from generation to generation.