Hutsul cheese figurines

What it is

Cheese horses are edible figures made from boiled cheese. Fresh rennet cheese, like that used for Budz, is cut into pieces and immersed in boiling water: the cheese becomes soft and stretchy, like plasticine. The artisan quickly shapes it into a horse, lamb, deer, or bird, and then drops the finished figurine into salty water to set.

A separate type of cheese artistry is 'kolachy' made from spread cheese and 'firmaki': cheese pressed into carved wooden molds with patterns and crosses. Dried figurines can last for years and harden like bone; they are eaten fresh as a delicacy.

Once, cheese figurines were made by male shepherds on the polonyna and brought down to the valley in autumn. Now, it is mostly a female craft, and cow's milk cheese is more commonly used, as it is easier to shape.

The 'culture of traditional Hutsul cheese artistry' was included in the National Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine in 2024.

History and name

Ethnographer Volodymyr Shukhevych described in the late 19th century how shepherds on the polonyna boiled sour sheep cheese in whey to make it more pliable than wax, shaping it into lambs, kolachy, and firmaki with carved crosses.

According to the description of the element in the National Register, the tradition exists in the villages of Brustury, Kosmach, Prokurava, Shepit, Richka, Snidavka in the Kosiv district, and in the villages of Kryvorivnia, Chornyi Potik, Krasnyk in the Verkhovyna district. Similar products are known in other regions of the Carpathians, as well as in Poland and Slovakia.

Intangible heritage of Ukraine. Element of the National Inventory of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ukraine: Культура традиційної гуцульської сирної пластики (No. 096н.к.с., наказ Мінкульту № 378 від 27.05.2024). Sources

Ingredients and allergens

Cow's milkfresh cheese from cow's milkThe raw material for huslianka, cow's budz, and cheese koniki.Contains allergens: milk

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

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

Also: salt (brine for setting)

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

Warm milk is mixed with a starter — klyah (hlyah), curdled milk from the stomach of a milk lamb or calf. The resulting fresh cheese, when it ripens a bit (from two days to a week), is cut into blocks.

A piece of cheese is dipped into boiling water, immediately taken out, and while it is hot and stretchy, the figurine is quickly shaped. The finished product is immersed in brine: the concentration of salt determines how strong the figurine will be. Firmaki are pressed into carved wooden molds. Dried figurines can be stored for a long time, while fresh ones last about a week in the refrigerator.

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.

The villages of the Kosiv and Verkhovyna districts, mentioned in the description of the element in the National Register 096.

When it is eaten

Occasions: Easter · Weddings · Polonyna (May — September)

In tradition

Cheese figurines had ritual significance. Firmaki with crosses were blessed on Easter, and horses along with cheese paskha decorated the festive table. A girl would gift lambs to the matchmakers during engagement as a sign of consent; they were also given at weddings, and kolachy were distributed for the repose of the souls of the deceased. Kolachy were also used to decorate homes — strung under icons.

Safety

Fresh figurines are cheese: keep them cold and eat within a few days. Souvenir dried products are not meant for consumption.

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