Carpathian cheese and dairy

Hutsul bryndza, budz, vurda, huslianka and cheese figurines: how they are made on the polonynas, where to try them, what is listed as heritage.

Intangible heritage of UkraineHutsul bryndzaCheeses · Hutsul regionSalty sheep cheese from the polonyna: aged Budz is mixed with salt and kept in wooden berbenytsia. The first geographical indication in Ukraine.

VegetarianHusliankaDairy · Hutsul regionA thick Hutsul sour milk product made from boiled milk. It is served with Kulesha and Banosh, and once was kept for months as 'winter milk'.

BudzCheeses · Hutsul regionFresh curd cheese made from sheep's milk, which shepherds prepare in the polonyna and dry by the fire. It is then used to make Bryndza.

Intangible heritage of UkraineHutsul cheese figurinesCheeses · Hutsul regionHutsul cheese figurines are edible figures shaped like horses, lambs, birds, and pastries, crafted in the villages of Kosiv and Verkhovyna. This edible tradition is included in the National Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

VegetarianVurdaCheeses · Hutsul regionTender boiled cheese made from whey left over after Budz, with the addition of fresh sheep's milk. A Carpathian relative of ricotta.

VegetarianZhentytsiaDairy · Hutsul regionSheep whey that remains on the polonyna after making Budz. It is used to make Vurda, to soften cheese for figurines, and it is also drunk.

Intangible heritage of UkraineBukovynian bryndzaCheeses · BukovinaCheese from the pastures of Putyl and Vyzhnytsia made from cow's and sheep's milk: aged Budz is mixed with salt and stored in wooden berbenytsia.