engleski

Origin, production and Specificities of Croatian Traditional Cheeses

This chapter reviews traditional Croatian cheeses including their importance in maintaining national heritage. Croatia is considered a treasure of traditional cheeses, as there are about thirty different types of traditional cheeses. Considering the climate and geographic conditions, traditional cheeses in Croatia could be divided into two main groups – cheeses from the coastal region and cheeses from the continental region. Among the most important properties of traditional cheeses are geographical origin and production specificities, which are crucial for their unique characteristics. In that sense, hard cheeses from the Adriatic area hold a special place among traditional Croatian cheeses due to a high value raw material –sheep milk produced from local breeds using natural pasture composed of characteristic aromatic Mediterranean plants. Continental cheeses are mostly produced from raw cow’s milk by acid fermentation. Some traditional Croatian cheeses are in the process of protection by marks of geographical indication or designated origin, however more efforts need to be made towards keeping traditional cheese-making alive.

traditional cheeses, Croatia

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