Photos by Stipe Surac

From SENSA Magazine, Croatia (English Translation):

Paški cheese is Pag’s “yellow gold.” Young Paški, aged for a few months, tastes like a three-month-old Manchego—creamy and mild. The aged cheese crumbles like Parmesan and is often served drizzled with olive oil to bring out the intense herbal and nutty flavors. Locals, especially elders, often call this cheese—aged for approximately a year—“real Paški.” As I let an olive oil-coated nugget of aged golden cheese melt in my mouth, I can almost taste the sage and salt-covered grasses on which the sheep grazed.

With the changing seasons and vegetation, every batch of Pag milk has different characteristics. The aging process also affects the taste of the cheese. “Young cheese is softer, with lighter colors, and has not yet crystallized,” Martina Pernar says. “Aged cheese is almost brown, and is harder and spicier. Younger cheese is eaten as an appetizer with pršut, and older cheese is consumed as a dessert, paired with good wine.”

“I think it is a question of taste,” says Marin Oštarić from OPG Vlado Oštarić, a small producer in Kolan. “Some people like young cheese, some like cheese that is more than a year old. I prefer spring cheese, when sheep start to eat more green grass and herbs—especially May cheese, when it is seven or eight months or older—just enough that it begins to crystallize.”

The key difference between the larger Paški cheese producers and the smaller producers is that the large factories pasteurize their milk, while smaller producers use unpasteurized milk to make their cheese. However, Sirana Gligora has recently started to produce small batches of unpasteurized Paški cheese, and has plans to make it more commercially available in the near future.

“Factories use higher temperatures, and homemade cheese is made from warmed milk, the temperature of the lamb’s stomach,” says Ivan Balabanić, a Kolan cheese maker. “There aren’t any special methods of Paški sir production—every producer in Kolan has the same method. What distinguishes good cheese from bad cheese is the quality of the pasture and the hygiene of the sheep and tools. People who feed their sheep corn or hay that is not from Pag have lower quality milk—so their cheese is not really Paški sir!”

Other small producers have similar sentiments. “Homemade, authentic production is the only way to make Paški sir,” says the cheese maker Dražen Crljenko of OPG, his family’s agricultural production in Pag town, who is the third generation to continue the tradition of making Paški cheese. “Homemade cheese is the only ‘real’ Paški sir. The large dairies produce an excellent Pag cheese, but they use pasteurized milk, which is a fundamental difference. Pasteurization kills all negative but also positive bacteria in the milk, which are essential in the process of making cheese. To compensate for the eliminated bacteria, they add some starters and cultures that are artificially produced.”

Franjo Zubović’s family has been making cheese in Kolan for more than a century. “The method and traditions have not changed greatly since the days when our grandparents made cheese,” Zubović says. “What has changed greatly are hygienic conditions in the places of milking, of barns, of the containers for storage and transport of milk.” Paški cheese has played a very important role in the Zubović family. “My parents made their living exclusively from income they made selling cheese,” he continues. “We are extremely proud of our cheese, and have received much praise from our regular customers.”

Life for small producers is not easy. During the milking season, they wake up at four or five o’clock in the morning to milk their sheep. The milk is transported in clean, sterile containers to the family house or small production facilities, where cheese production begins. In the afternoon, the process is repeated. The work starts in January or February and continues nonstop through June. “There is no rest during that time,” says Dražen Crljenko of OPG in Pag town. “No one can be sick, regardless of the weather.”

Another small family producer, Figurica, is situated across from Sirana Gligora in Kolan. Figurica makes their own Paški cheese, which they sell to guests at their restaurant. Ivica Oliverić, the founder and owner, makes two batches per day during the production season—one early in the morning and one in the afternoon. Despite being a small producer, Oliverić still churns out a considerable three tons of cheese per year.

Figurica’s cheese production facilities are located below the restaurant, and their temperature-controlled aging room is above ground. Each wheel is marked with the Roman numeral III, Kolan’s number, and 53, Oliverić’s identification number, so people know which producer the Paški comes from.

Another Kolan producer also serves their cheese in its popular family restaurant, Konoba Beledvir. Fabijan Oštarić’s family produces approximately 1.7 tons of Paški cheese annually. Oštarić says life on Pag has always revolved around sheep and cheese. Years ago, wool was just as important of a commodity as the sheep’s milk and meat—he remembers his grandfather wearing socks made of wool called “škofuni.” Now, synthetic materials are cheaper and easier to manufacture, so the once coveted wool has little value. But cheese making has remained an important aspect of the island’s economy and identity.

“Every day in our life is about cheese and sheep,” says Oštarić. “We live for cheese production, and we live of it!”

READ PART I

READ PART II

Photo by Stipe Surac

From SENSA Magazine, Croatia (English Translation):

Over the past few years, Pag’s cheese has received numerous awards and international acclaim (see sidebar). In search of Pag’s award-winning Paški cheese, I explore the southern part of the island, where the largest producers are located. My first stop is Kolan; swathes of rocky pastures extend for kilometers, and a single road cuts through the town’s center. Here, life revolves around sheep—and fittingly, the rustic town is home to the island’s second and third-largest cheese factories, Sirana Gligora and Sirana MIH.

SIDEBAR: GLOBAL GOLD

Paška Sirana’s Paški cheese was a champion at the Novi Sad Fair and AGRA Fair in Slovenia, and it earned a silver medal at the 2011 World Cheese Awards in Birmingham, UK. At the 2012 Global Cheese Awards in the UK, Sirana Gligora’s Paški cheese won gold; at the 2010 World Cheese Awards, it won three Superior Gold Medals and received three successive Golden Star Superior Taste Awards from the International Taste and Quality Institute in Brussels, in addition to a Barber’s Trophy for “Best New Cheese” after being evaluated by ten of the most respected cheese specialists in the world. Sirana MIH’s Paški cheese earned 4th Place in the hard sheep’s milk cheese category at the 2012 World Champion Cheese Contest in America (Wisconsin), and it won gold medals at the 2008 International Fair of Agriculture and Food in Slovenia and at the 2008 International Fair of Agriculture in Novi Sad. Small family producers on Pag have received the highest recognition at the national quality assessment competitions, in addition to awards at the International Cheese Festival in Drniš, among others.

Ivan Gligora hails from generations of Croatian cheese makers, and the artisan skills were passed down to him from his father. After years of working as a top dairy technologist, Ivan opened his own family dairy in 1996, Sirena-mala Sirana, with a loan from a friend, which he paid back with cheese. In 2010, Ivan unveiled his newly constructed state-of-the-art modern dairy, Sirana Gligora. Gligora supports more than 250 local shepherds in a cooperative, which helps sustain all-natural, traditional agricultural practices on Pag.

The Pernjak family has been producing Paški cheese on the island since 1890. Sirana MIH, established in 1994 by Dubravko Pernjak, is a small family-owned-and-operated dairy located down the street from Sirana Gligora in Kolan. Because of the growing demand for their cheese, MIH built a new facility in 2006, equipped with technology that adheres to the most modern European standards. Here, the Pernjak family and its fourteen employees produce high-quality Paški cheese and skuta, a seasonal cheese similar to ricotta. All of the cheese makers on Pag produce skuta, which is made from the whey remaining after the production of Paški sir.

SIDEBAR: HEALTH BENEFITS OF SHEEP’S MILK CHEESE

Consumption of sheep’s milk products have been linked to longevity, and the high content of nutrients, calcium and Vitamin D in sheep milk are critical to the prevention of osteoporosis. Due to its small fat globules, sheep’s milk cheeses are milder on the digestive tract than cheeses made from cow or goat milk. Additionally, sheep milk contains a high amount of conjugated linoleic acid, a fatty acid that may help fight the formation of cancer cells and reduce body fat. Skuta is very rich in lean milk fats and proteins. Excellent for liver regeneration and sugar regulation, skuta has less than one percent milk fat and is high in amino acids, the building blocks of life.

Driving down the windy hill from Kolan to Pag town I glimpse Pag’s Old Town, with its partially intact medieval walls. On a previous visit to Pag I’d met some grandmothers who make the famous Paška Čipka in their clustered, terraced-style houses, and walked the worn, white cobblestones to the Benedictine Monastery St. Margarita in the Old Town. The nuns make a special bread called Baškotini—the recipe is a secret, and you can only purchase the traditional bread at the monastery.

I note the old salt flats, pools of cordoned off seawater stretching out like a patchwork quilt. As early as the 10th century, Pag town became famous for its salt production. Many powers fought over the island’s salt reserves, which for centuries were a mainstay of the island’s economy and valued like gold. Today, the local salt factory, Salona, keeps the island’s salt tradition alive. Between the Old Town and Solana is Paška Sirana’s factory, the largest cheese producer on the island.

“The story of Paški cheese is a story about generations of families who have breathed together this salty island air, who have tended to their flocks during cold winters and summer droughts,” says Martina Pernar, daughter of the dairy’s former CEO, Ante Pernar. “It is a story about hundreds of hardworking hands who make this cheese come into being.”

Ante Pernar, Ante Oštarić, and Matilda Kurilić-Radić founded Paška Sirana in 1946. In 1968 it joined Zagrebačka Mljekara to form a joint business. Ante Pernar transitioned the company from a State-owned Yugoslavian company to a stock ownership company shortly after Croatia declared its independence in 1991. In 2008, the “new” Paška Sirana opened its doors. Their modern facility produces eight hundred tons of cheese per year, a hundred of which is Paški cheese; they source milk from 3,000 of their own sheep, as well as from members of their cooperative.

READ PART I HERE

SENSA Magazine’s April issue has been removed from newsstands in Croatia, so I’m allowed to post my feature article on Pag Island and Paški cheese. Thanks to Stipe Surac for the stunning photographs.

READ THE ARTICLE IN CROATIAN HERE: Pag Article Sensa

English Translation (Part I)

Crossing on to Pag Island via the short bridge connecting it to the mainland, I note an instantaneous landscape shift. Pag’s hills are rocky and sparsely vegetated with shrubs, and the barren terrain resembles a moonscape. The Venetians deforested the island in the 15th century and used the lumber to build ships, but the lack of foliage is also due in part to the Bura; it whips over the Velebit mountain range and hammers the island like a surge from a pressured spout.

Sheep dot sand-colored hills; in the distance, the slate grey Velebit mountain range looms. The scent of herbs—sage, wild thyme, and basil—peppers the Mediterranean air in spring. A network of traditional suhozid divide the terrain into uneven segments. Pag’s dramatic, craggy hills seem to undulate forever, revealing winks of shimmering sea.

Pag, a skinny island—sixty kilometers long and about ten kilometers at its widest point—has eight thousand inhabitants, thirty-five thousand sheep and a long tradition of cheese making. Pag’s autochthonous sheep are especially tough, having adapted to withstand extreme temperatures on the island, from scathingly hot summers to frigid winters. The Bura kicks up the surface of the Adriatic and deposits sea salt on the sparse grass and herbs on which the sheep graze, resulting in a uniquely-flavored milk high in butterfat and protein and ideal for making cheese.

Some say cheese making on Pag dates back to the first century B.C., when the Illyrians first settled the island. No one knows for certain how long Paški cheese has been produced on Pag, but its origins could trace back as far as the 11th century. A legend says a young Croatian prince named Radovan—the son of Demetrius Zvonimir, a Croatian king appointed in 1076—came to Pag and ate a well-known cheese, which is assumed to be Paški cheese. But legends aside, Pag’s famous cheese can undoubtedly trace its origins back to the 18th century. In 1774, the Venetian travel writer Alberto Fortis published his famous book, Viaggio in Dalmazia dell’Abate (Travels into Dalmatia)—in it, he mentions Paški cheese, in addition to other native products such as sea salt, honey, sage, and wool.

According to many locals, making Paški cheese is still one of the most important occupations on the island, next to tourism. From the largest producers that make tons of cheese during the January through June milking and lambing season to Pag’s smaller producers—families that sell their handmade batches of cheese in their restaurants, shops, or sometimes by the roadside in summer—Paški cheese is inextricably intertwined with the lives of Pag’s residents, and it plays a starring role on the island.

The largest cheese producers are Paška Sirana, Sirana Gligora, and Sirana MIH; on an annual basis they produce one hundred tons, sixty tons and twenty-two tons of Paški cheese, respectively. Additionally, there are about five hundred households that produce Paški cheese on the island. The basic recipe is still kept, but technology makes the cheese making process cleaner, easier and safer.

“Production technology has changed since the old days when our grandmothers made Paški sir,” says Ivan Gligora, CEO of Sirana Gligora, located in the town of Kolan. “In old times they didn’t cool the milk or apply heat treatment [pasteurization], and they used ash for coating the cheese. Where our ancestors used a cooking pot over a fire, we use a state of-the-art steam-heated vat, which allows us to heat the milk to precise and consistent temperatures. Where they used rocks to press the cheese in the molds, we use a fully adjustable pressure system to make sure equal pressure is applied to each wheel of cheese. We don’t ignore the old ways, we just make use of modern technology to ensure that we get a consistent, high quality throughout.”

A century ago, women made cheese in copper and tin bowls, and molds were made of wood, not plastic. Rennet, a coagulating agent used in the cheese making process, was derived from sheep’s stomachs—not like today’s microbial rennet, which is purchased from abroad. Cheese was ripened in pantries with barrels of wine and dried sheep meat; today, cheese is aged in special climate-controlled rooms where temperature and humidity are closely monitored.

“Milking is still done by hand, but new technologies provide higher hygienic standards,” says Martina Pernar, Head of Marketing at Paška Sirana in Pag town. “We are the only cheese factory on the island that kept the traditional way of aging cheese, on wooden shelves.”

READ PART II

My feature article in Sensa on Pag and Paški cheese has hit newsstands in Croatia! You can purchase the magazine until May 12th, 2013.

READ A TEASER: Sensa Pag Article page one

I’ll be posting the entire article (in Croatian) in mid-May, and uploading translated sections in English during the remainder of May. So stay tuned!

Hvala to the cheese makers on Pag, who were so helpful in providing fruitful information about their beautiful and unique island—this article would not have been possible without you.

I’m looking forward to visiting Pag again in early July. As of July 1st, Croatia will be part of the European Union.

Sirana Gligora is busy assembling their book of Pag Island restaurants, which will be available for purchase in spring/summer 2013. I was commissioned to write the text for the coffee table book, which will also contain beautiful photos by Simon Kerr, who heads marketing at Gligora. Check out my June 2012 restaurant adventures and Sirana Gligora’s press conference announcing the creation of the book.

Here’s a sneak peak at my intro to the book:

About the Author, Kristin Vuković

My grandparents emigrated from Croatia to America in the early 1900s, when Croatia was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and my grandmother’s cooking reflected this union of cultures. Anna, my grandmother, learned to cook from her mother, Magdalena, who ran a boarding house for men in Dayton, Ohio. Magdalena used cooking techniques she learned in Croatia and Old World recipes passed down for generations. Tradition was at the heart of my grandmother’s cooking, from her palačinke (crepes) to her savory sarma (ground meat and rice wrapped in cabbage leaves). She made everything with love—and a lot of lard!

Over the past few years, I have been to Croatia more than a dozen times; I’ve researched our family history and written about Croatia’s rich culture, including its twenty-five century winemaking history and blended culinary heritage, which, in addition to Slavic and Germanic influences, also includes Italian.

At a June 2011 wine tasting event in New York City, Simon Kerr from Sirana Gligora told me stories about a moonscape island that makes a special cheese using centuries-old techniques passed down through generations. I felt something inside me stir. I had tasted Pag Island’s famous sheep’s milk cheese, Paški sir, but never knew the story behind it. And I’d never been to Pag—a skinny, barren island located off Croatia’s northern Dalmatian coast with 8,000 residents and 35,000 sheep.

Ivan Gligora, founder of Sirana Gligora, hails from a long line of cheese makers. His son, Šime, has taken over running daily operations for the family business. Sirana Gligora strives to closely adhere to the way cheese has been made on the island for centuries, while incorporating necessary modern advances. “Production technology has changed since the old days when our grandmothers made Paški sir,” Ivan told me. “In old times, they didn’t cool the milk or apply heat treatment, and they used ash for coating the cheese. Now the technological process of cheese making is advanced, but we still need to keep tradition alive.”

When I was asked to write the text for this book, I had no idea of the culinary adventure that I would experience. On this diverse island, I met restaurant owners who made their own cheese and chefs who devised innovative dishes such as lamb chops with Paški cheese sauce, cuttlefish risotto with Paški shavings, and tortellini with a blend of Sirana Gligora cheeses, including Paški. I hope you enjoy reading about the many treasures this island has to offer.

Hvala (thank you) to the Gligora family, especially Ivan and Šime, for making this book a reality. And special thanks to Simon Kerr for introducing me to Pag and Paški cheese, and conceptualizing this book. He is responsible for transforming a seed of an idea into the book you hold in your hands today.

Kristin Vuković writes the blog psfrompag.com and is working on her book-in-progress, P.S. from Pag: Adventures with Cheese and Sheep in Croatia. She holds an MFA in Nonfiction Writing and BA in Literature and Writing from Columbia University in New York City, and lives in Manhattan with her husband. 

My article on Pag Island’s Paški cheese and its producers appeared in Culture Cheese Magazine‘s Winter 2012 issue! I’m thrilled with the way it looks. A big thanks to Stipe Surac, a talented Zadar-based photographer, who provided the stunning photographs. HVALA to everyone on Pag Island who helped me gather information for this piece!

Read Treasure in the Adriatic.

Pag bay and salt flats

Solana produces 15,000 tons of Pag salt (Paški sol) annually, making it the largest salt producer in Croatia.

Bags of Solana Morska Sol (sea salt) ready for shipping

Pag is perfectly positioned for salt production: its long bay, constant wind, shallow water, and warm sea temperature provide ideal conditions for salt flats. Shells and microorganisms process heavy metals, ingesting the “bad sea” and expelling the good. Even with today’s technology, Solana allows the elements to do most of the work; sun and wind evaporate seawater, and at the last stage, the salt is sent to the factory for purification and final processing.

 A mountain of processed sea salt in Solana’s warehouse

Salt has been an important part of Pag Island’s history—many battles were fought over this “white gold.” Sea salt was literally worth its weight in gold; heavy gold coins were too difficult to carry long distances, so Pag created the first paper money in this part of the Mediterranean.

A copy of Pag’s paper money. Text is in Italian, as Pag was under Venetian rule between 1409-1797.

Until the early 19^th century, small salt producers on Pag were able to support their families solely from the sale of salt. Since technology methods have changed and salt is readily available, the price of sea salt has fallen. Today, Solana imports sol gris (grey salt) from Tunisia, which is half the price of Paški sol and is used to de-ice roads.

On left: pure white Pag sea salt. On right: “sol gris,” rough grey salt from Tunisia.

View from inside travarica production house

Today I had the unique opportunity to see how the island’s famous travarica is made. Rakija is the general name for any type of spirit distilled from fruit; grappa is made from grapes. Here on Pag Island, they make travarica, the “king of rakijas” – pure grape brandy infused with a blend of herbs. It is an excellent digestive tonic, and is used to treat a variety of ailments including toothaches, inflammations, and fevers. Note: after tasting homemade travarica, which has a very high alcohol content (around 50%), I concluded that it will kill any germs present in your system!

Traverica production house, exterior

Predrag Oštarić, my host at Tamaris in Pag City, took me to meet his father, Frane, who was making travarica this morning with his friend, Šime Goleš. They produce between 80 and 100 litres of travarica per year!

Šime Goleš (left) and Frane Oštarić (right)

The remains of the grapes, Pajica, are mixed with herbs from the island and boiled in special ovens. Some travarica blends contain just a few herbs, while others can contain twenty or more. Herbs that are typically added to the brandy include: thyme, chamomile, lavender, rose hips, matgrass, currants, juniper, mint, fennel, sage, and rosemary. Here on Pag Island, sage and rosemary grow wild and are most certainly present in any travarica you will sample. The flavor is stronger and more complex the longer you allow the alcohol to absorb the herbs.

Distillation process: heating up the grapes

Final part of distillation

Here is a list of the herbs in Frane Oštarić’s travarica — I was only able to find some English translations for the herbs:

Anita, Komorač (Fennel), Vrisak, Kadulja (Sage), Metica, Diulja, Ruzmarin (Rosemary), Lovor (Laurel), Pelin (Wormwood), Dunja (Quince). 

Šime Goleš with a bottle of homemade travarica

Learn more about the process of making grappa here.

It’s my last Sunday on Pag — I will leave for Zadar tomorrow or Tuesday, then home to New York City on Wednesday. Hard to believe I’ve been in Croatia almost a month!

Pag’s eastern hills

After a full day of rain on Friday and rain last night, we finally have a clear, sunny day. Pag’s barren landscape seems more dramatic than usual today. Everything takes on a blue hue, my favorite color — so many shades.

Church of the Assumption of the Holy Mary

This morning, I attended mass at the local Pag City church, “Church of the Assumption of the Holy Mary.” Mary, Mother of God, is the patron saint of Pag City. It was a real experience today because there was a christening. A new baby was welcomed into the church and community — a cause for celebration.

Outside church before mass