The cheeses made in and around Tokaj: the protected names first, then the local cheeses people actually eat, with their milk, rind, ageing and taste.

The cheeses of Tokaj

Parenyica

Cow and sheep milkPasta, filataAlso Parenyica (Slovak: parenica)

A steamed cheese from Slovakia. Sour curd is cut into thin strips, kneaded in warm water, pulled into a ribbon, folded, brined and wound into a spiral roll, then dried and lightly smoked in cold smoke. It was first made from pure non-pasteurised sheep's milk in the 1800s; modern versions also use cow's milk or a mix. The EU registered Slovenská parenica as a Slovak PGI in 2008; in Tokaj the cheesemaker Tokaji Sajt, on its Facebook page, shows parenyica among its smoked cheeses and a parenyica parcel filled with cheese cream.

Taste: Slovak Wikipedia gives it a very delicate taste and a cream to cheese-yellow colour, the surface golden-yellow to yellow-brown after smoking; English Wikipedia calls it semi-firm. Smoked, unsmoked and flavoured versions are made.

Ageing: Short ripening after smoking and chilling, according to the HÍR collection

Made in: Slovakia; in the Tokaj area made at Tokaji Sajt in Tokaj

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Gomolya

Cow and sheep and goat milk, bothFresh

A fresh, salted cheese in a loaf shape (cipó) drained in cloth, so the weave of the strainer shows on its smooth skin. The national HÍR collection of traditional foods describes a bone-white cheese of about 3 kg whose cut face is rich in curd holes, once made from raw sheep's milk, now mostly from pasteurised cow's milk, with sheep, cow and goat versions, plain or smoked. It files the cheese under the northern Hungary region, which takes in Tokaj's county of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, and says shepherds there called the one or two day old cheese édes sajt, sweet cheese. In Tarcal, Zempléni Sajt sells a grill gomolya through its webshop and calls it a traditionally made, original Hungarian cheese.

Taste: Fresh, lactic, aromatic and pleasantly salty, with a smooth, springy, slightly chewy paste that slices cleanly, according to the HÍR collection. Zempléni Sajt suggests its grill gomolya for starters and salads, aged in spiced oil, or grilled.

Ageing: None; sold fresh or ripened for a few days, according to the HÍR collection, which also names it as the base of juhtúró (sheep curd)

Made in: Made across Hungary; the national HÍR collection files it in its northern Hungary chapter (Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Heves and Nógrád) and also lists the Northern and Southern Great Plain; in the Tokaj area sold by Zempléni Sajt in Tarcal

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Cheeses in Tokaj, FAQ

Is the parenyica made in Tokaj the protected Slovak cheese?

No. Slovenská parenica is a protected geographical indication for cheese made in Slovakia, entered in the EU register on 11 July 2008. Tokaji Sajt in Tokaj sells its own cheese as parenyica.

What milk is parenyica made from?

The Hungarian HÍR collection of traditional foods says it was once made from raw sheep's milk and is now made mostly from cow's milk. Hungarian Wikipedia, describing the Slovak cheese, says the sheep's milk share must be at least 50 percent.

How big is a roll?

The HÍR collection gives about 0.3 kg for a roll 7 to 8 cm across, wound from a ribbon 6 to 7 cm wide. Slovak and English Wikipedia give about 100 g for a typical Slovak roll.

How is traditional gomolya made?

Per the HÍR collection, rennet was stirred into warmed milk, the curd was broken after an hour to free the whey and poured through a loose-woven cloth whose size set the size of the cheese, then left to drip and dried on a cheese table or pressed. Today it is salted and drained to its final shape in cloth.

Can you buy gomolya in the Tokaj area?

Zempléni Sajt in Tarcal lists a grill gomolya on its webshop in 250 g packs, sent vacuum-packed; its terms of sale also allow collection at the dairy at a time agreed in advance.

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