Oštiepok vs Parenica
Oštiepok
Facts
- Milk
- Sheep
- Texture
- Semi-hard
- Type
- Pressed
- Rind
- Natural rind
- Country
- Slovakia
Oštiepok is a traditional semi-hard cheese from Slovakia, and the classic version is made from sheep's milk. Makers press warm curd into a carved wooden mold, so each piece comes out like an egg or a small spindle with a raised pattern. Many wheels are then smoked, which darkens the surface and adds a wood fire smell. Some dairies blend in cow's milk, and those pieces taste milder and less sheepy. The sheep's milk cheese is the one tied to older mountain farm practice.
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.