Bryndza is a favorite food throughout the year. But the "May" one somehow tempts our taste buds more. Dušan Štálik, owner and director of Bryndziarne s.r.o in Turčianske Teplice, told us about bryndza, not only the May one.
How did you get into bryndza?
This bryndza factory was founded in 1917, associating Turiec farmers and sheep breeders, so it is already 100 years old. My mother worked here for 35 years. In 1992, we took the bryndza factory on lease, and I used to help my mother. After she retired, I took over.
What fascinated you about bryndza?
Probably mostly that it is not just a food that, as they say, fills the stomach, but it also has health effects. I gratefully remember Professor RNDr. Libor Ebringer, DrSc (1931–2015, a leading Slovak microbiologist), who conducted microbiological research on bryndza in Slovakia and devoted much energy to it. Not only in the lab but also clinical tests on people. For example, he gave a group of patients 100 grams of bryndza daily for 8 weeks and observed if cholesterol, blood pressure, and other parameters improved as theoretically expected. He proved directly that it works.
He used unpasteurized bryndza...
Yes, unpasteurized bryndza contains all the beneficial bacteria alive and positively affects intestinal microflora.
Your bryndza factory also produces unpasteurized "live" bryndza...
We produce 100% sheep bryndza from unpasteurized sheep milk. We also produce mixed bryndza, which includes unpasteurized sheep cheese and cow hrudka cheese from pasteurized cow milk. Every unpasteurized bryndza contains a huge amount of live probiotic microorganisms beneficial for health.
You, as an expert, do not take seriously the talk about the risk of consuming unpasteurized bryndza...
Two years ago, based on some newspaper article, bryndza sales dropped, which was harmful not only for producers but especially for consumers. However, fears were not confirmed, but people lost a healthy delicacy. Pathogens cannot be present in bryndza if processed properly. The ripening process must be respected, and if it is, harmful microorganisms are destroyed, and only beneficial bacteria remain. Also, part of the standardized bryndza production process is that at the beginning of the season, we require a breeding status from sheep breeders; sheep are checked for udder inflammation and health.
Standardized process means bryndza is produced the same way in different factories. Yet bryndzas differ...
Each is specific, differing by sheep breed, what the sheep eat, whether they are fed in the barn (some keep sheep in the barn even in summer), where they graze, altitude, area, vegetation, and plants present. Each altitude has different plants, influencing milk. Each plant adds something to the milk. Our factory considers it most important to have milk or sheep cheese from Slovakia. Although Slovakia is small, its flora is rich and contains many medicinal plants, and these effects are reflected in bryndza. It was said: "In spring, the shepherd looked even after the second stick when going to the sheep, and in autumn, he carried the heaviest ram on his shoulders to the village." What do you think? What did he eat and drink?
Is the original Wallachian sheep still bred in this region?
The widespread breed is Cigája, and increasingly we meet Lacaune breed imported from France. It has higher milk yield.
Finally, a personal question: do you consume bryndza every day?
Not every day, but very often. Among other things, I am a member of the tasting commission because we taste every batch before it leaves the factory. So I taste it too. And I thank all our customers who enjoy it with us. "Cheers."
