Pule is made only in one place in the world – in the Serbian nature reserve Zasavica. It is a vast, protected area located in the northern part of the country, among the wetlands and meadows of Vojvodina. Natural conditions are of great importance here, because the cheese is made from the milk of Balkan donkeys, which live in an almost natural environment, far from mass breeding.
The Zasavica reserve is not only the background for cheese production, but its foundation. Donkeys graze on local meadows, drink clean water and are not subject to intensive breeding methods. Each animal gives a small amount of milk, a milking is done manuallyeven several times a day. This is a time-consuming and experienced process because donkeys produce much less milk than cows or goats.
Pule is produced by one cheesemaker and a small team. The scale is minimal – Only a few dozen kilograms of cheese are produced each year. This limited availability means that the product goes mainly to taste collectors, premium restaurants and auctions, where it is treated almost as a luxury investment good.
Pule is distinguished not only by its price and origin, but also by its composition. Donkey milk has long been recognized as unique in terms of nutritional value. In the case of this cheese, this translates into specific features that distinguish it from most known dairy products.
The most important properties of Pule cheese are:
- very low fat content, reaching approximately 1 percent,
- high level of vitamin C, much higher than cow’s milk,
- the presence of phosphorus and minerals supporting the skeletal system,
- delicate protein structure, thanks to which the product is considered more easily digestible.
Its potential anti-allergic properties are also often emphasized. Donkey milk is similar in composition to human milkwhich is why it is sometimes recommended as an alternative for people with intolerance to cow’s milk proteins. In the form of cheese, it retains some of these features, although of course it remains a luxury product and not an element of the daily diet.
In terms of taste, Pule is described as serister, with nut nuts and lightly green character. The consistency is soft, but at the same time crumbly. It is a product that is eaten in very small quantities, treated more like a tasting experience than a classic addition to a sandwich.
The price of Pule is a consequence of many overlapping factors. Each stage of production generates costs that cannot be reduced without losing the quality or authenticity of the product.
The high price of Pule cheese is mainly due to:
- a huge amount of milk needed to obtain 1 kilogram of cheese – as much as 25 liters,
- very low milk yield of donkeys,
- manual milking, requiring time and human work,
- limited number of animals and no possibility of mass production,
- production taking place only in one, protected place.
Added to this is the fact that the cheese matures slowly, without accelerating technological processes. There is no room for compromise or scaling production. Every kilogram is the result of months of work and care for animals.
The market price of Pule can reach the equivalent of several thousand zlotys per kilogram, and in some offers even more. In practice, this means that for the average consumer this product is almost inaccessible. For the producer, this is the only way to maintain this production model and protect the unique character of the cheese.
Source: Terazgotuje.pl
