Next: about 2 May 2027
Sâmbra Oilor, the measuring of the milk
In Romania's Oaș country, flocks are milked and measured before the climb, to share out the summer's cheese.
Cheeses for Sâmbra Oilor, the measuring of the milk
On the first Sunday of May, the shepherds and families of Țara Oașului in north-west Romania gather on the hill at Huta Certeze for Sâmbra Oilor. Before the sheep go up to the mountain for the summer, each owner's ewes are milked and the milk is measured; the result decides how much cheese and whey cheese each family will receive from the shared flock during the season. The day carries on with music, dancing in local dress and a festival of folk groups. The cheeses at stake are caș, the fresh curd, the salted telemea and urdă, made from the whey.
The cheeses
Also part of it, and being written: Caș (Fresh sheep's curd cheese, the first product of the flock.), Telemea (Brined cheese for keeping through the year.), Brânză de burduf (Kneaded cheese packed in bark or skin in the Carpathians.).
Written by the EveryCheese desk with AI assistance. Background: "Huta Pass" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Urda: Mngck, CC BY-SA 4.0, source