Paški sir is a renowned hard sheep cheese from the Adriatic island of Pag in Croatia, granted EU Protected Designation of Origin in 2019.
Firm and crystalline, it crumbles into savoury, nutty shards with a lingering salty-herbal tang from the island's wild flora. Older wheels turn sharp and almost piquant, like a Mediterranean cousin of aged pecorino. A few slices with bread and olives make a perfect starter.
Salt-laden, aromatic island grazing passes herbal compounds into the milk, giving the cheese its distinctive flavour. Brining and long ageing draw out moisture and concentrate proteins, producing the hard, crystalline, sharp-tasting result.
Variations
young creamy Pag cheese, aged grainy wheels, served with fig jam, paired with prošek dessert wine
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 12How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓90 min active · 129600 min waiting
How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓- 160 min
Collect fresh sheep's milk from Pag's island flocks.
- 230 min
Gently warm the milk and add starter culture and rennet.
- 345 min
Let the milk coagulate into a firm curd.
- 440 min
Cut the curd, then heat and stir to expel whey.
- 530 min
Press the curd into moulds to form dense wheels.
- 61440 min
Brine the wheels in salt water to season and firm the rind.
- 715 min
Rub the surface with olive oil during ageing.
- 8127440 min
Age in a cool cellar for several months until hard and grainy.
