Selyska Cheese Dairy, Nyzhnie Selyshche

Selyska Cheese Dairy in the village of Nyzhnie Selyshche, near Khust, is one of the places where the modern story of craft cheese in Ukraine began. It was founded in 1994 as a social project to support small mountain farms: instead of selling milk for next to nothing, villagers gained a reliable buyer, and the village gained its own production. It is often called Ukraine's first artisan cheese dairy, and today it is one of the best-known food addresses in Zakarpattia.

Swiss know-how in a Transcarpathian village

The founder, Petro Pryhara, learned his craft from Swiss cheesemakers, and a Swiss dairy technologist helped launch production. The idea was backed by friends from the European Longo Maï cooperative, who remain connected to the valley to this day. Milk is collected from local households, and the cheese ripens in the cellars for months, which gives it a deep flavour with nutty and fruity notes, nothing like factory cheese.

The core range is well known to food lovers:

• Selyskyi: the semi-hard cheese where it all started, aged for at least three months, sweetish and spicy.
• Nartsys Karpat ("Carpathian Narcissus"): a hard cheese aged for more than six months, with a bold aroma and a nutty finish.
• Menchul: the dairy's own semi-hard creation with a delicate creamy, nutty taste.
• Khust: a soft young cheese that ripens for up to two weeks.

A separate project is the traditional bryndza of the Khust area, made together with the local Shepherds' Association to keep authentic sheep farming alive and bring young people into the craft.

Tour and tasting

Visitors are offered a guided tour: you learn how local milk turns into cheese, how it is pressed, salted and cared for, and then you enter the ageing rooms, where wheels of different ages rest in rows on wooden shelves. The visit ends with a tasting, a chance to compare young and mature cheeses and to notice how flavour develops over time. Cheese can be bought on site or ordered from the dairy's online shop for delivery.

Tours run by prior booking only, for groups of four or more. If you are travelling as a couple, call ahead: sometimes you can join another group.

Practical information

• Address: 170 Tsentralna St., Nyzhnie Selyshche, Khust district, Zakarpattia region.
• Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9:00–17:00, Saturday 9:00–16:00, closed on Sunday.
• Tour with tasting: 250 UAH for adults, 200 UAH for children (according to the website; prices may change).
• Booking: +380 67 386 51 09, e-mail [email protected].

How to get there

Nyzhnie Selyshche lies about 12 km east of Khust as the crow flies. By car the drive from Khust takes around half an hour; the easiest option is to set your navigator to 170 Tsentralna St. By public transport, take the Khust–Kovashnevo, Khust–Khustets or Khust–Poliana buses, which leave from the start of Lvivska Street in Khust, and get off at the stop in the village centre. The last stretch of road is uneven in places, so allow a little extra time.

Website and social media: seliskasirovarnia.com.ua · facebook.com · instagram.com

Photos: zaktour.gov.ua; seliskasirovarnia.com.ua.