Zázrivské vojky

Appearance & taste

Zázrivské vojky are cheese strings 10 to 70 cm long and 2 to 16 mm thick, loose or twisted in a bundle and often tied in the middle with a cheese string. The strings consist of well-separated fibres, are elastic to firmer but not hard, and thanks to their fibrous structure do not tear easily; over time the elasticity decreases. The cheese contains at least 25 % fat in dry matter.

The unsmoked variety is white to creamy white, the smoked one yellowish to golden yellow, with a smoky aroma and a little more salt. Structure and consistency are the same in both. The taste is milky, salty and slightly sour, of delicate cheese, with a typical smoky note in the smoked variety. The label states whether or not the cheese is smoked.

Production

The starting product is a cheese block made with a sour milk culture from raw or pasteurised cow’s milk; according to the specification, where this block is produced is not decisive for quality. Once it has reached the necessary acidity, it is cut into strips, grated and worked in water at 70 to 95 °C with a wooden spoon or a mixing machine into a compact, plastic mass. This is kneaded, folded and pulled by hand until it is supple and smooth, and immediately drawn by hand or with two counter-rotating notched rollers into long strings that fall straight into cold drinking water.

After 2 to 10 minutes, the cooled strings are wound by hand onto a reel, cut through at one end and tied in the middle with a cheese string. They are salted in brine and hung on wooden or stainless steel rods to drain. The smoked variety goes into cold smoke from hardwood in a traditional smokehouse until it is golden yellow. All steps from cutting up the cheese block to smoking take place in the area, and the cheese is immediately wrapped in film there so that it keeps its shape.

Origin & history

Zázrivá is a mountain region bordered to the north by Oravská Lesná, to the west by Terchová, to the south by Párnica and to the east by the ridges of Paráč and Minčol. It was settled during the Wallachian colonisation in the 16th century. The mountainous location, stony soil and cool climate allowed little arable farming; small farms therefore developed with sheep farming and later cattle farming, which were almost the only source of income.

Probate records from the mid-18th and the 19th century provide information about this economy. According to oral tradition, string cheese was already being made in Zázrivá in the second half of the 19th century. Cheese was made in every household, even those with only a few sheep and cows: the curd was steamed in hot water, pulled into strings by hand, dropped into cold water, wound onto a wooden frame, cut open the next day, bundled and placed in brine; the families sold the cheese themselves. A trade in steamed cheese also developed in the village, documented by trade licences in the archives. According to the specification, cheese pulling is passed on from generation to generation; at the annual Zázrivá Days there are competitions in pulling the strings.