Bryndza
A soft, spreadable, tangy sheep cheese of Slovakia and the Polish highlands, eaten with potato dumplings.
Also: bryndza podhalańska, slovenská bryndza, bryndza
Bryndza in Slovakia and southern Poland is a soft, white, salty sheep cheese with a pleasantly sour, slightly sharp taste. Shepherds first make a fresh pressed sheep cheese, called hrudka in Slovak and bundz in Polish, and leave it to ferment for some days. The fermented curd is then broken up, salted and ground into a smooth paste. Slovenská bryndza is protected in the European Union, as is bryndza podhalańska from the Polish Tatra foothills. In Slovakia the national dish, bryndzové halušky, is small potato dumplings tossed with bryndza and topped with crisp bacon. The name comes from the Romanian word brânză and travelled north with Vlach shepherds in the Middle Ages.