What is the Oscapek?

Oscypek is a type of smoked Polish cheese, which is traditionally produced only in the Tatra Mountains. Handmade from unpasteurized mountain sheep milk on small local farms, the tradition of making this cheese has mostly remained the same since the 14th century. Sold seasonally without packaging or label, oscopek is almost exclusively on local markets. The cheese is produced in huts called Basutzka that have permanently burning fires and are kept exceptionally clean. In these cottages, all phases of the cheese production process, from milk processing to smoking of finished cheeses. In colder months they are held in shelters. The mountain area in which they live is relatively without pollution and does not use any chemical fertilizers. The ewes are moved two or three times a day.

Dooled whey, cheese manufacturers manually cooked all cheeses. Oscypek is kneaded into the shape of the spindle and each spindle requires about an hour of kneading. Once the kneading is complete, the manufacturer pushes dThe combed ring into the dense part of the cheese and creates a distinctive pattern that serves as a manufacturer's mark. After designing the cheese, it is inserted into the brine and solk solution for 24 hours. Finally, it is hung from the rafters in the cottage to smoke.

The weight of finished cheeses between 21-28 ounces (600–800 grams) and are around 3-3.5 inches (8-9 cm) around. They are shades of yellow to orange, their color depending on the type of wood used for their smoking. Oscypek has a smoked taste of chestnut. It is often grilled and served with beer, wine or sometimes vodka.

because of the popularity of this cheese, unusual oscopek , was sometimes created as a false oscopek . This cheese is made of cow's milk and is sold throughout the year. Unusual cheese can also be available in areas that are not real cheese. Since in a traditional cheese that causes sheep milk not pasteurized, there are a restriction where you can forData true oscopek and many official shops cannot sell traditionally made cheese.

In 2008, Oscapek was the first Polish product to obtain a European Union protected designation of the status of origin to disallow producers to use the name " oscillation " for any cheeses that in the Tatra mountains using this hand -made process. However, the situation in this process does not prohibit the use of cow's milk, so the organization called Presidium has been established to help ensure local farmers to produce traditional Oscapek cheeses.