‘Lički škripavac’ cheese becomes 32nd Croatian protected designation of origin
- by croatiaweek
- in Food & Wine
ZAGREB, 22 Dec (Hina) – The Croatian Agriculture Ministry on Tuesday reported that the ‘Lički škripavac’ cheese has become the 32nd Croatian protected designation of origin in the EU, which guarantees the purchase of an authentic product.
The news of the product having been given a protected designation of origin was published in the EU’s Official Journal of 21 December.
The procedure to protect the name ‘Lički škripavac’ was launched in December 2017 when the Lički škripavac association, which brings together small dairy producers from Lika-Senj County, submitted a request to that effect to the Agriculture Ministry.
The cheese is produced mostly in Lika-Senj County but also in Zadar and Karlovac counties.
Lički škripavac is a soft, fatty cheese obtained through the coagulation of raw or pasteurised whole cow’s milk using rennet and a starter culture, and separation of the whey. The cheese is not matured and thus does not have a rind. It has a soft-rubbery consistency and is cylindrical or rectangular in shape.
The interior is smooth, with no or few holes caused by the retention of the whey during the moulding of the cheese. It has a milky-sweet and moderately salty taste. The cheese has a characteristic rubber consistency, and it ‘squeaks’ when it is eaten, hence the name ‘Lički škripavac’ (which translates roughly as ‘squeaky cheese from Lika’), according to a description in the Official Journal.
The other protected products so far are: Paški sir, Lička janjetina, pršut from Dalmatia, Drniš, Krk and Istria, olive oil from Cres, Krk, Solta and Korčula, mandarins from Neretva, Poljički soparnik, sour cabbage from Ogulin, Kulen from Baranja and Slavonian, cabbage from Varazdin, Slavonian honey, salt and lamb from Pag, Međimursko meso ‘z tiblice’, turkey and mlinci from Zagorje, potatoes from Lika, Brački varenik, Bjelovarski kvargl cheese, Oyster from Mali Ston and Varaždinski klipič, Dalmatinska panceta, Dalmatinska pečenica and Rudarska greblica.
