🇵🇱 Polish cheeses

Polish cheeses are above all the sheep's milk mountain cheeses of Podhale and the Tatras — Oscypek, Bundz, bryndza podhalańska and redykołka — together with fresh cow's milk cheeses from the lowland regions. This page gathers the country's protected names and best-known varieties.

The shepherd tradition. On summer pastures in the Tatras and Beskids, shepherds (baca) in their huts turned fresh sheep's milk into Bundz, a mild fresh cheese that is the base for other varieties. Oscypek is a pressed, spindle-shaped cheese with a carved pattern, made from sheep's milk with some cow's milk and smoked. Redykołka is a small smoked cheese shaped like animals, hearts or birds. Bryndza podhalańska is a soft, salty spreadable cheese made from matured bundz.

Lowland cheeses. Away from the mountains, cow's milk dominates. Curd cheese (twaróg) is everywhere, used for cheese pancakes and fillings. Podlasie is known for ser koryciński swojski, made from raw cow's milk, and Greater Poland for wielkopolski ser smażony, curd cheese heated with butter into a soft, stretchy mass.

The EU register eAmbrosia lists 5 protected Polish cheese names. Three are PDO: Bryndza Podhalańska, Oscypek and Redykołka. Two are PGI: Ser koryciński swojski and Wielkopolski ser smażony.

How to choose and serve. Genuine Oscypek carries the PDO logo and its typical pattern; it is eaten cold in slices or grilled with cranberry jam. Keep bundz and bryndza chilled and eat them soon; ser koryciński is served with fresh bread, vegetables and herbs.

Why it matters to you: knowing the region and milk of a Polish cheese helps you tell real Oscypek from a smoked cheese made only from cow's milk and pick the right cheese for a dish, from the grill to breakfast.