Brynza Cheese

Brynza is a traditional brined cheese made mainly from sheep's (more rarely cow's or goat's) milk. It is one of the treasures of Carpathian gastronomy and an inseparable part of Hutsul cuisine, though brynza is also widespread in the Balkans and Moldova.

It is made from fresh cheese (budz), which is salted and held in brine, thanks to which brynza acquires its characteristic salty, sharp taste and dense, crumbly texture, and also keeps for a long time. The Hutsuls make brynza high in the mountains on the polonynas during the summer grazing of the flocks. In Ukrainian cuisine brynza is an indispensable component of many Carpathian dishes: it is added to banush, kulesha, riplianka, and varenyky, used to fill peppers, and sprinkled over potatoes. Salty, aromatic, and nourishing, brynza vividly embodies the rich culture of polonyna cheesemaking of the Ukrainian Carpathians.