Photos: Serbia’s pule donkey milk cheese demands deep pockets
Updated On Jul 02, 2019 10:20 AM IST
White, dense and rich in flavour, Serbia's one-of-a-kind donkey cheese is not only tasty but good for your health, says cheese maker Slobodan Simic. There's only one catch -- at 1,000 euros ($1,130) a kilo, it may well be the most expensive cheese in the world.
1 / 8
Updated on Jul 02, 2019 10:20 AM IST
Donkeys eat grass in a field on a nature reserve in northern Serbia called Zasavica. Since 2012, cheese maker Slobodan Simic and his team of farmers have been milking a herd of more than 200 donkeys who live on this nature reserve. (Andrej Isakovic / AFP)
2 / 8
Updated on Jul 02, 2019 10:20 AM IST
A farmer milks a female donkey at the Zasavica nature reserve. Donkey milk has similar properties to breastmilk and is touted by Simic as a cure for a range of ailments, including asthma and bronchitis. “A human baby can take this milk from the first day, without having it diluted,” he says, calling it a “wonder of nature.” (Andrej Isakovic / AFP)
3 / 8
Updated on Jul 02, 2019 10:20 AM IST
While a lack of scientific studies make it difficult to assess its health properties, the milk is high in protein and has been recognised by the UN as a good alternative for those with allergies to cow’s milk. But “what no one in the world does, and could never make, is the donkey cheese,” Simic says of his flagship product. (Andrej Isakovic / AFP)
4 / 8
Updated on Jul 02, 2019 10:20 AM IST
Donkey milk has low levels of casein -- a type of protein that acts as a binding agent in cheese-making. But a staff member at Zasavica discovered that portions of donkey milk could be mixed with some from goats in order to craft the crumbly mounds of cheese. (Andrej Isakovic / AFP)
5 / 8
Updated on Jul 02, 2019 10:20 AM IST
A farmer shows a bucket with donkey milk. The mixture also helps make up for the fact that donkeys produce less than a litre of milk a day -- a fraction of the 40 litres a cow can provide. (Andrej Isakovic / AFP)
6 / 8
Updated on Jul 02, 2019 10:20 AM IST
A farmer holds up a package of donkey cheese at Zasavica. The farm sells between six and 15 kilos of cheese a year, mainly to foreigners and tourists who visit, says Simic. They also produce donkey milk soap and liquor. (Andrej Isakovic / AFP)
7 / 8
Updated on Jul 02, 2019 10:20 AM IST
A bottle of donkey milk. For Simic, the business is also a way to protect the Balkan donkey, an animal that has become less prevalent as machines take their place in agriculture. “We are maintaining the need for this animal and now there are more and more donkey farms, the demand for donkeys is higher... which is a very good thing for us and the region,” he says. (Andrej Isakovic / AFP)
8 / 8
Updated on Jul 02, 2019 10:20 AM IST