Oscypek (
pronounced ,
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin scree ...
plural: ''oscypki''), rarely Oszczypek, is a
smoked cheese made of salted
sheep milk
Sheep's milk (or ewes' milk) is the milk of domestic sheep. It is commonly used to make cultured dairy products such as cheese. Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include feta (Greece), ricotta (Italy), and Roquefort (France).
Sheep bree ...
exclusively in the
Tatra Mountains
The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak () or in Polish () - ''plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. They are the hig ...
region of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. Oscypek is made by an expert named "baca", a term also denoting a shepherd in the mountains. The cheese is a traditional holiday cheese in some European countries and is often pan fried and served with
cranberry
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus '' Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry ...
jam (''żurawina'') on the side.
Process and varieties
A similar cheese is made in the Slovak Tatra Mountains under the name
oštiepok. The cheeses differ in the ratio of their ingredients, the
cheesemaking process and the characteristics of the final product. Oscypek needs to be made from at least 60% sheep's milk, and must weigh between 60 and 80g and measure between 17 and 23cm. It can only be produced between late April to early October, when the sheep used is fed on fresh mountain grass.
Oscypek is made using salted
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...
's
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modul ...
, with the addition of cows' or goats' milk strictly regulated by the protected recipe.
Unpasteurized salted sheep's milk is first turned into
cottage cheese
Cottage cheese is a curdled milk product with a mild flavor and a creamy, non-homogeneous, soupy texture. It is made from skimmed milk by draining the cheese, as opposed to pressing it to make cheese curd—retaining some of the whey and keeping t ...
, which is then repeatedly rinsed with boiling water and squeezed. After this, the mass is pressed into wooden,
spindle-shaped forms in decorative shapes. The forms are then placed in a
brine
Brine is a high-concentration solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O). In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of solutions used fo ...
-filled
barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...
for a night or two, after which they are placed close to the roof in a special wooden hut and
cured in hot smoke for up to 14 days.
History
The first mention of cheese production in the Tatra Mountains dates back to the 15th century, in a document from the village of Ochotnica in 1416. The first recorded recipe for Oscypek was issued in 1748 in the
Żywiec area.
There is also a smaller form called
redykołka, known as the 'younger sister' of oscypek.
Since 14th of February 2008 Oscypek has been registered under the European Union
Protected Designation of Origin
The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union and the United Kingdom aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main ...
(PDO).
counties in southern Poland. Source
width=250 height=200 zoom=7 latitude=49.5 longitude=20 align=right>[
, //Nowy Targ county
, //Tatra county
, //Bystra-Sidzina commune
, //Zawoja commune
, //Niedźwiedź commune
, //Kamienica commune
, //Olszówka
, //Raba Niżna
, //Łostówka
, //Łętowe
, //Lubomierz
, //Piwniczna-Zdrój commune
, //Muszyna commune
, //Krynica-Zdrój commune
, //Istebna commune
, //Milówka commune
, //Węgierska Górka commune
, //Rajcza commune
, //Ujsoły commune
, //Jeleśnia commune
, //Koszarawa commune
]
* – Polish sheep's milk cheese
* – Polish cheese similar to oscypek, but made with milk from cattle
*
*
*
*
*
* – The "younger sister" of oscypek