Livanjski sir

Appearance & taste

Livanjski sir is a low cylinder with a flat base and a flat or slightly convex side. The large wheel measures 18 to 28 cm in diameter, is 7 to 10 cm high and weighs 1.8 to 3.5 kg; the smaller one measures 9 to 14 cm in diameter and weighs 0.6 to 1.2 kg. The rind forms by itself during ripening; it is smooth, hard, free of cracks and golden yellow, and may darken somewhat over time. The paste is pale yellow, compact, slightly elastic and easy to cut, with no or a few small, regular holes; cheese made from raw milk may have more and often irregular holes. As it matures it loses elasticity and becomes darker.

Taste and smell are slightly sweetish and recall walnut kernels; the taste is moderately salty and pleasantly sharp and becomes more savoury with age. The smell is typical of mature hard cheese, grows stronger over time and is slightly reminiscent of aromatic herbs from the area. The cheese has at least 60 % dry matter, at least 45 % fat in dry matter and 1.8 to 2.2 % salt.

The label states whether the milk was raw, pasteurised or thermised, which animal it came from and, for mixtures, the proportions. Cheese ripened for at least six months may bear the ripening time and the mark “PREMIUM”.

Production

The milk comes from the municipalities of Livno, Tomislavgrad, Kupres, Glamoč, Grahovo and Drvar. The animals graze for about six months a year, mainly on mountain and alpine pastures; for the rest of the year they eat hay or haylage from the area. Their feed may be supplemented with compound feed, minerals and vitamins. According to the specification, the aromatic compounds of the pasture herbs pass into the milk.

Pasteurised, thermised or raw milk is used. In the area it is prepared for coagulation and coagulated, the curd is cut and separated from the whey, and the wheels are pressed, salted and ripened, ideally for 90 days but at least for 60. Milk, whey and the surroundings of the dairies bring a diverse microflora that colonises the cheese during production and ripening. Pieces and grated cheese are cut or grated at the place of production and vacuum-packed or packed in a protective atmosphere; only cheese ripened for more than twelve months may be grated. Wheels under 1.2 kg are sold only whole.

Origin & history

The area lies at the transition between Herzegovina in the south and Bosnia in the north, where warm influences from the Mediterranean meet a cold mountain climate. Winters are cold and harsh, summers moderate and warm. Because the karst drains water away quickly, it is often dry in summer, while after the November rains and the snowmelt parts of the area are flooded. Natural grassland covers large areas. On mountain pastures and karst fields, warmth-loving and cold-loving species grow side by side, many of them endemic to the Dinaric Alps and the Balkans, such as woolly viper’s grass and spotted cat’s-ear.

According to the specification, cheesemaking goes back a long way and began with pastoral farming in the mountains, when cheese was the only way to preserve milk. The particular method of Livanjski sir has been preserved in the area since the end of the 19th century and handed down from generation to generation. A specialist article from 2003 describes a 117-year history of production.