The Most Expensive Cheese in the World is Pule Cheese
The most expensive cheese in the world is Pule cheese, or magareći sir. It is a Serbian delicacy consisting of 60% of donkey milk of Balkan donkeys and 40% of goat milk.
Artisan cheese makers produce Pule cheese in the Zasavica Nature Reserve in Serbia. it is a distinctive dairy product in Serbian cuisineand world’s most expensive cheese. You may pay 150 Euros for 100 grams.
The reason it is so expensive is because it is a scarce delicacy. Only about 100 jennies or magarica (female donkeys) produce the milk (just 300 millimetres per day) for making Pule cheese and it takes 25 litres (6.6 gallons) of milk to create one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of Pule cheese.
By selling the Pule cheese at such a price, you are supporting the Zasavica Nature Reserve. Their goal is to sponsor the conservation of this species of donkey and to prevent it from getting extinct.
Pule cheese is an artisan or farmstead cheese. In general such cheeses are often more complex in taste and variety. Skilled specialty cheese makers produce the specialty cheese by hand.
Part of the artisanal cheese making process is aging and ripening of the cheeses to develop flavor and textural characteristics. Pule cheese is a farmstead cheese, made traditionally with milk from the producer’s own herds of cows, sheep, and goats. It is artisan since the cheese is mainly produced by hand with as little as possible mechanic production.
Artisan cheeses may be made by mixing milk from multiple farms, whereas the more strict definition of farmstead cheese (or farmhouse cheese) requires that milk come only from one farm. This is the case with the second most expensive cheese in the world: moose cheese.
Source: Wikipedia
The Man Behind Pule Cheese
Slobodan Simić is the man behind the success of pule cheese. Simić twenty years ago was an MP who became a conservationist and created a nature reserve in 1997near Zasavica. Zasavica is a village (and river) just 90km northwest of Belgrade. With the help of his political friends, Simić changed the wild marshland surrounding the village into a nature reserve in 1997.
In 2000, Simić was bought a few Balkan donkeys at a market nearby. The Balkan donkey is a smaller donkey compared to the donkeys we know. They were originally used for work or transportation but then abandoned and abused. Today, there are over 200 Balkan donkeys. He added other native animals, including the Mangalica, which is related to the Hungarian “curly pig”.
Health Benefits
The milk should slow down the ageing process due to it being rich in vitamins. It is also an immunity booster in the Balkans since ancient times. Cleopatra even bathed in it the stories tell. it also boosts virility.
Donkey milk is 60 per cent is assumedly more nutritious than cows’ milk and it allegedly benefits people with asthma and bronchitis.
Where Can You Buy Pule Cheese?
Unfortunately we cannot offer it online. Pule is only available for purchase at the farm in Serbia. Which makes it even more expensive because now you will have also to pay for the trip and stay to Serbia. Which is actually very worthwhile to visit!
World’s second most expensive specialty cheese is Moose cheese
World’s second most expensive specialty cheese is Moose cheese. Christer and Ulla Johansson at their location called “Moose House” or “Elk House” (Älgens Hus) farm in Bjurholm, Sweden,in Sweden produce this artisan cheese.
Depending upon the ageing and their procedure, the Elk House produces 4 types of cheeses namely, White Mold Cheese, Creamy Blue Cheese, Dried Blue Cheese and Feta Cheese.
Feta cheese is the top seller amongst them with a tangy and creamy taste. It is a smooth textured cheese and is slightly acidic in flavour which is stored in a neutral vegetable oil. The shelf life of the cheese ranges from 6 months to a year.
Until now, moose cheese is the world’s only producer of moose cheese. It has three milk-producing moose, whose milk yields roughly 300 kilograms of cheese per year; the specialty cheese sells for about US$1,000 per kilogram (approximately US$455 per pound). Moose cheese therefore is the second most expensive cheese in the world. World’s most expensive cheese being Pule cheese. Älgens Hus’ restaurant, located in Sweden, serves the specialty moose cheese. Source: Wikipedia
Moose cheese is an artisanal cheese. As a result, the cheeses are often more complex in taste and variety.
Bitto Storico
The Bitto Storico costs between 225 and 300 Euros per kilo. It is an Italian cheese made mainly from cow’s milk and about 10% goat’s milk. The region of Lombardy is the most famous when it comes to Bitto Storico.
The bitto storico can be recognized by its straw yellow colour, and becomes paler as it ages. The maturing of this cheese takes at least 70 days, and can last for years. The more time goes by, the more valuable the cheese becomes.
The Bitto Storico is an artisan mountain pasture product. In its production process old copper basins have been used for decades. That is how a few producers proudly preserve the old dairy tradition of this historic cheese.
The taste is sweet and very delicate, with a more intense aroma as the cheese matures. Its paste is crumbly, the strong flavour leaves hints of fruit and dried flowers. The prolonged storage also gives a delicate hint of spiciness, characteristic of some products with long aging.
To date, the Bitto Storico is the only cheese in the world that can mature for more than 10 years. And then sold at auctions at exorbitant prices like about 8000 € per cheese.
The wine to pair with Bitto Storico must be dry, warm and slightly tannic. The cheese can also be accompanied with good honey, jams, walnuts and balsamic vinegar.
White Stilton Gold
White Stilton Gold is an English cheese, which indeed nearly has the same value as gold. The kilo of this cheese can vary between 500 and 600 Euros
White tilton gold, has become a leading Christmas food in England. White Stilton is a cheese with a creamy texture, and is recognizable by the sweetness of its flavour. Sprinkled with edible gold leaf and accompanied by liqueur, it can also be textured with blueberry and/or cranberry.
Artisanal Cheese is World’s Most Expensive Cheese
Part of the artisanal cheese making process is aging and ripening of the cheeses to develop flavor and textural characteristics. One type of artisanal cheese is known as farmstead cheese. Specialty cheese makers make farmstead cheese traditionally with milk from the producer’s own herds of cows, sheep, and goats.
Artisan cheese makers make their cheese by mixing milk from multiple farms, like with Pule cheese. The more strict definition of farmstead cheese (or farmhouse cheese) requires that milk come only from one farm. Which is the case with moose cheese, the second most expensive cheese in the world.
Source: Wikipedia
