Carpathian shepherds’ food

What shepherds eat and make on the polonynas from May to September: budz, bryndza, vurda, whey, banosh and kulesha. The «Mira» festival, dairies.

Lenten variantBanoshPorridges and corn dishes · Hutsul regionThick corn porridge with sour cream, which is stirred for a long time until the butter appears. It is served with Bryndza, cracklings, or mushrooms.

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.

Lenten variantKuleshaPorridges and corn dishes · Hutsul regionThick cornmeal porridge boiled in water: it is turned out onto a board, cut with a thread, and eaten with bryndza, butter, or sour 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.

LentenCarpathian herbal teasSoft drinks · Hutsul regionDaily drink of the Carpathian villages: thyme, motherwort, St. John's wort, mint, linden blossom, leaves of blueberries and raspberries, dried from summer.

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.