Oscypek vs Parenica
Oscypek
Facts
- Milk
- Sheep
- Texture
- Semi-hard
- Type
- Pressed
- Rind
- Natural rind
- Country
- Poland
Oscypek is a smoked sheep's milk cheese from Poland, formed in the mountain dairies of the Tatra Mountains. Each piece is a small spindle, with a stamped pattern pressed into the surface before it meets the smoke. The outside turns golden to brown, and the interior stays pale, firm, and elastic. Salt and wood smoke are part of the identity, not extras you can ignore. You can slice it for a board or heat it and eat it while it is soft.
Parenica
Facts
- Milk
- Sheep
- Texture
- Semi-soft
- Type
- Stretched curd
- Rind
- No rind
- Country
- Slovakia
Parenica is a traditional sheep's milk cheese from Slovakia, steamed and stretched, then wound into a pair of spirals that often meet in an S shape. The paste is supple and fibrous, pale on the inside, and yellow to brown on the outside when the piece has been smoked. The taste is mild, a little salty, and marked by sheep's milk, with smoke as a light extra in the usual version. It is a snack and board cheese, and people unwind the ribbon rather than cut a thick wedge.