Mamin Syr creamery, Zolotarovo
Mamin Syr ("Mum's Cheese") is Natalia Kovach's family creamery in the village of Zolotarovo near Khust. It began in the pandemic year of 2020: to depend less on the shops, the family bought a cow, and Natalia tried making camembert in an ordinary kitchen pot. Tasting it, her children kept asking whether it was "Mum's cheese or shop cheese" — and the name stuck. Within a few years the hobby had grown into a farm of about 30 cows and a range of some ten cheeses, which have since reached the world's biggest cheese competition.
In 2024 the yoghurt cheese Lopta won silver at the World Cheese Awards in Portugal and the title "Best Ukrainian Cheese 2024". In 2025 two more of the creamery's cheeses — Ferkovania and Padre Romzha — brought home bronze from the same contest, a rare achievement for a small family business from Zakarpattia.
Why seek out this cheese
Mamin Syr is first and foremost a producer rather than a visitor attraction: regular farm tours or tastings have not been confirmed. The cheese, however, is easy to buy. It is sold via Instagram and Facebook, in Zakarpattia's craft-food shops and at fairs, and shipped by post across Ukraine. If you are travelling around Khust, call ahead — you may be able to arrange to collect an order in the village itself. For cheese lovers it is a chance to taste something international judges have praised without leaving the region.
What to try and buy
- Lopta — a delicate yoghurt cheese rolled in black pepper and dried garlic; silver medallist at the 2024 World Cheese Awards.
- Aged tilsiter-style cheeses — classic, with chia seeds, with Carpathian herbs or with fenugreek; one of them, Darvaika, is named after a local mountain pasture.
- Ferkovania, named after an apple variety grown in Zolotarovo, and Padre Romzha — both bronze winners in 2025.
- Camembert, gorgonzola and caciotta — European styles made with Zakarpattia milk.
- Labneh and shanklish — cheese balls in oil with herbs, handy for a picnic.
- Carpathian brynza — the salty brined cheese no Zakarpattia banosh can do without.
Cheesemaking in Zakarpattia has deep roots: shepherds have long made brynza and budz up on the mountain pastures, while milk from the lowland villages along the Tysa went into homemade cheeses for the whole family. A new generation of cheesemakers combines that tradition with European techniques, and Mamin Syr shows nicely how local milk, herbs and even apple-variety names become a recognisable flavour.
Practical information
- Where: Zolotarovo village, Khust district, Zakarpattia region; the exact address is not published — please ask by phone.
- Phone: +380 97 837 00 04; e-mail [email protected].
- Online: shop at momcheese.prom.ua, Instagram and Facebook momcheese2020, where the current range and prices are posted.
- Visits: by prior arrangement only; check in advance whether you can collect cheese on site.
Getting there. Zolotarovo lies on the plain close to Khust. Khust is easy to reach by car along the N09 Mukachevo — Rakhiv road or by train to Khust station; from there the village is a few kilometres away by local road, by car or taxi. Be sure to arrange the meeting by phone before you set off.
Please confirm by phone before your trip.
Website and social media: momcheese.prom.ua · instagram.com · facebook.com
Photos: instagram.com; agroportal.ua; varosh.com.ua; zaktour.gov.ua.
