🧀 Oscypek

Oscypek is a smoked Polish cheese with a protected designation of origin (PDO), made mainly from the milk of the Polish Mountain Sheep in the Tatra and Podhale area of the Lesser Poland and Silesian voivodeships.

Milk and making. At least 60 % of the milk must be sheep's milk; if cow's milk is used, it must come from the Polish Red cow. Soured milk is mixed with fresh milk and renneted, the curd is beaten with traditional tools, up to half of the whey is removed, and the curd is ground by hand and formed into a ball. The ball is pierced with a skewer and pressed along it into a double-pointed spindle shape, then smoothed by hand and put into cold water. The cheese is soaked in brine for up to 24 hours, dried for 12 to 24 hours and cold-smoked for 3 to 7 days.

Look and size. The cheese is spindle-shaped, 17 to 23 cm long, 6 to 10 cm wide at the widest point and 0.6 to 0.8 kg in weight. Cut, it is light cream, darker near the rind; the rind is straw-coloured to light brown with a soft shine. Water content is at most 44 %, dry matter at least 56 %, and fat in the dry matter at least 38 %.

Season and sale. Oscypek is produced only from May to September and may be sold only whole.

History and name. According to the specification, oscypek is an ancient product of Wallachian shepherds, brought to Podhale with their culture and the shepherd's log hut (bacówka); the first evidence of cheese making there is the 1416 charter of the village of Ochotnica. The name comes from the verb oszczypywać (to pinch repeatedly) or from oszczypek, a diminutive of oszczep (javelin). The name was entered in the EU register in 2008 (Regulation (EC) No 127/2008).