Bryndza (from

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...

''brânză'' cheese) is a

sheep milk Sheep's milk (or ewes' milk) is the milk of domestic sheep. It is commonly used to make cultured dairy products such as cheese. Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include feta (Greece), ricotta (Italy), and Roquefort (France). Sheep breed ...

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During productio ...

made across much of East-Central Europe, primarily in or around the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretche ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. Bryndza cheese is creamy white in appearance, known for its characteristic strong smell and taste. The cheese is white, tangy, crumbly and slightly moist. It has characteristic odor and flavor with a notable taste of

butyric acid Butyric acid (; from grc, βούτῡρον, meaning "butter"), also known under the systematic name butanoic acid, is a straight-chain alkyl carboxylic acid with the chemical formula CH3CH2CH2CO2H. It is an oily, colorless liquid with an unp ...

. The overall flavor sensation begins slightly mild, then goes strong and finally fades to a salty finish. Recipes differ slightly across countries. Bryndzové halušky so slaninou

Etymology

''Bryndza'' or ''Brynza'', a word borrowed from Romanian ''brânză'' ("cheese"), is used in various European countries, due to its introduction by migrating

Vlachs "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easte ...

. Though the word ''

brânză Bryndza (from Romanian ''brânză'' cheese) is a sheep milk cheese made across much of East-Central Europe, primarily in or around the Carpathian Mountains of Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania and southern Poland. Bryndza cheese is creamy white in a ...

'' () is simply the generic word for "cheese" in

, there is no special type of cheese associated with it (the name of the animal is added to differentiate

Brânză de vaci Brinza de vaci, literally translated as “cow cheese”, is a type of fresh dairy product made from whole milk, the product resembles quark (dairy product). It is traditional in the cuisines of Moldova, Romania and Slavic-speaking countries. Pro ...

). It is a word presumably inherited by the Romanian language from Dacian, the language of the pre-Roman population in modern-day

. Alternatively it was possibly borrowed from Albanian brëndës (“intestines”). Originally it referred to cheeses prepared in a sheep's stomach by reacting with the rennet inside. Outside Slovakia, Romania and the flanking regions of southern Poland, it is still popular nowadays in the Czech Republic under the Czech spelling "brynza". According to the Romanian Explanatory Dictionary the etymology of ”brânză” is unknown. Other regional names for the product include ''juhtúró'' in Hungarian, ''брынза'' in Russian, ''brenca'' in Serbian, ''Brimsen'' in German, ''бринза'' and ''бринзя'' in Ukrainian and ''ברינזע'' in Yiddish.

History

The word was first recorded as ''brençe'', described as "

Vlach "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...

cheese", in the Croatian port of

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranea ...

in 1370. Bryndza was first recorded in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coronation of the Hungarian monarch, c ...

in 1470 and in the adjacent Polish region of

Podhale Podhale (literally "below the mountain pastures") is Poland's southernmost region, sometimes referred to as the "Polish Highlands". The Podhale is located in the foothills of the Tatra range of the Carpathian mountains. It is the most famous ...

in 1527. In Slovakia, bryndza is regarded as a typically Slovak product and it is one of the main ingredients in the national dish

bryndzové halušky Bryndzové halušky () is one of the national dishes in Slovakia. This meal consists of halušky (boiled lumps of potato dough similar in appearance to gnocchi Gnocchi ( , , ; singular ''gnocco'') are a varied family of dumpling in Italian cuis ...

. The modern version of the soft spreadable bryndza is believed to have been developed by entrepreneurs from Stará Turá (Western Slovakia) toward the end of the 18th century. They founded bryndza manufactures in mountainous regions of Central and Northern Slovakia, where local sheep cheese manufacturing had deep roots. They traded bryndza and popularized it all around the Austrian

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

. In Austria, it was called Liptauer, after the northern Slovak Liptov region. The Viennese speciality Liptauer, a savoury cheese-based spread, has replaced bryndza with common cows' milk cottage cheese because the original Slovak bryndza disappeared from Austrian market after the

Dissolution of Austria-Hungary The dissolution of Austria-Hungary was a major geopolitical event that occurred as a result of the growth of internal social contradictions and the separation of different parts of Austria-Hungary. The reason for the collapse of the state was Worl ...

Geographical indications

* ''Slovak bryndza'' from

was registered in the EU's ''Register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications'' on 16 July 2008 as a

Protected Geographical Indication Three European Union schemes of geographical indications and traditional specialties, known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional specialities guaranteed (TSG), promote and protect nam ...

(PGI). The geographical indication was requested on 4 October 2007. Slovak bryndza must contain at least 50% of sheep milk. ''Sheep (ovčia) bryndza'' contains 100% sheep cheese. * '' Bryndza Podhalańska'' from

has been registered in the EU's ''Register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications'' on 11 June 2007 as a

Protected Designation of Origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union and the United Kingdom aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main ...

(PDO). The

geographical indication A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...

was requested on 23 September 2006.

Etymology

History

Geographical indications

See also

References

Further reading