Csiga-Biga “Merry Stable” Farm, Velykyi Bereznyi

Vesela Stainia Csiga-Biga (“The Merry Stable”) is a small family farm in the town of Velykyi Bereznyi in the Uzh valley. Its Hungarian name means something like “little snail” and hints at one of the farm's specialities — snail breeding. But what draws food travellers most are its goat's cheeses: the regional Transcarpathian “Cheese Route” mentions the farm as a place making brie-style goat's cheese and caprino, plus sausages from Mangalica pork and Czech goat meat.

What to taste

According to travel guides, the farm produces:

• brie-style goat's cheese — with a white rind and a soft centre;
• caprino — an Italian type of fresh or aged goat's cheese;
• goat's bryndza with lekvar — salty cheese paired with thick Transcarpathian plum butter;
• goat's milk and cheese spreads;
• Mangalica sausages — from the curly-coated Hungarian pig breed known for its marbled meat — as well as products from Czech goat meat.

The farm used to offer a tasting of four cheeses with a spread and a glass of wine, plus tours of the farm with its goats, pigs of various breeds and snails. Whether this format still runs and what it costs must be checked by phone in advance.

Goat farming and Hungarian flavours in the Uzh valley

Velykyi Bereznyi is a multi-ethnic town near the Slovak border where Ukrainian, Hungarian and Slovak cooking have long intertwined — hence the Mangalica, the lekvar and the farm's Hungarian name. Goat's cheese is a relatively young tradition in Transcarpathia compared with sheep's bryndza, but small family farms like this one have shown that European-quality cheese can be made from local goat's milk. For travellers it is a chance to taste something you will not find in a supermarket and to talk to the people who look after the animals themselves.

Practical information

• Address: Koriatovycha St, Velykyi Bereznyi (listed on Google Maps as «Весела Стайня Csiga Biga»), Uzhhorod district, Zakarpattia region. Arrange your visit by phone before coming.
• Phone: +38 095 568 28 38 (as listed in guides; check that it is current).
• Social media: the farm's Facebook group.
• Visits: by prior arrangement only; tasting formats and prices change.

Please confirm by phone before your trip.

Tips before you go

Small farms run to the animals' rhythm: milking in the morning and evening, kidding season in spring, grazing in summer. So arrange your visit in advance, bring a cool bag for the cheese and some cash in case card payment is not available. Soft goat's cheeses are best eaten within a few days, while aged ones travel well as an edible souvenir of Transcarpathia.

Getting there

Velykyi Bereznyi lies about 45 kilometres north-east of Uzhhorod on the road up the Uzh valley to the Uzhok Pass. Buses and local trains on the Uzhhorod–Sambir line run here from Uzhhorod; the town has its own railway station. By car the journey takes about an hour.

Website and social media: facebook.com

Photos: vidviday.ua; lh3.googleusercontent.com.