Bundz

What it is

Bundz (Hutsuls say 'bunc') is a fresh rennet cheese made from sheep's milk: a white soft lump with a gentle milky taste, slightly sweet. It is neither smoked nor salted, so the flavor depends solely on the milk.

The most prized is the bundz from spring pastures, until the night of Ivan Kupala — it is called May bundz. The grass is young then, and the cheese turns out particularly tender.

Bundz is eaten fresh — with bread, honey, or herbs. If allowed to mature for a few days, it becomes the base for bryndza. Bundz is made in Podhale, in the Gorce, Sądecki, Żywiec, and Silesian Beskids.

Fresh bundz is sold in bacówkas — they are marked with a sign by the road or path. The cheese is cut from a large lump by weight. It is unsalted, so Hutsuls eat it both with salt and herbs, and with honey or jam.

History and name

The name is common across all the Carpathians: Ukrainian budz, Polish bundz, and Romanian bulz derive from the same Wallachian word meaning lump.

In 1876, priest W. A. Sutor described in detail how a bača in the Gorce region prepares milk with rennet and churns the cheese by hand into one 'bondz'. In October 2005, bundz was included in the Polish List of Traditional Products of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It does not have a protected name in the EU.

Ingredients and allergens

Sheep's milkMilk from sheep that graze on polonyna is the raw material for budz, bryndza, and vurda.Contains allergens: milk

Rennet (klyag)kłagNatural rennet from the stomach of a milk lamb or calf, which causes milk to curdle into cheese.

Contains allergens: milk
Diet: gluten-free · no cooking

Ingredients of the traditional recipe; every cook and every place may do it differently — please ask when ordering. We cannot guarantee the absence of allergens or traces.

How it is made

The first steps are the same as for oscypek: milk is poured into a pućer and prepared with rennet. The curd is heated for a few minutes at approximately 70 °C, then drained on cloth in large lumps and allowed to drain.

The remaining whey — żentyca — is consumed fresh or fermented.

Where it is eaten

The area is approximate and based on the sources below. The dish is cooked outside it too, and ethnographic borders are blurred.

Podhale, Gorce, Sądecki, Żywiec, and Silesian Beskids. The area is approximate, based on counties.

When it is eaten

Occasions: Polonyna (May — September) · Everyday food

Safety

Traditionally, cheese is made from raw, unpasteurized milk. Pregnant women, small children, and people with weakened immune systems should choose cheese made from pasteurized milk or eat it in hot dishes.

FAQ