Cheese Database

Oscypek vs Redykołka

Oscypek, field guide plate
Oscypek, photographed

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.

Redykołka

Facts

Milk
Sheep
Texture
Semi-hard
Type
Stretched curd
Rind
Natural rind
Country
Poland
Place
Produced in the Podhale region

Redykołka is a small smoked sheep's milk cheese produced in the Podhale region of Poland. Makers form it from the curd left after larger highland cheeses are shaped, so the pieces stay small. Hearts, wreaths, spindles, and little animals are all traditional shapes. The inside is pale, soft, and elastic, while the outside turns straw colored in the smoke. The taste is salty, lightly spicy, and clearly smoky, and a warm piece smells stronger than a cold one.