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Cheese from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Konjic

Repovački sirgruda (the oval lump of cheese)

Raw whole sheep milk, with up to 20 % cow milk allowed, is set with animal rennet at 30–35 °C for 80–150 minutes. The curd is cut into large cubes, drained in small cloth bags that are twisted into oval lumps and hung at least 8 hours, then salted and packed in tubs under a weighted wooden lid. The lumps ripen at least 2 months in salted whey or brine, with no air.

Fully documentedCheese2.1 monthsPDO (BiH, 2024; Sl. glasnik BiH 58/24)Family: White brined cheese family (Feta PDO as template)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe specification gives no batch size. About 0.5 kg of curd goes into each bag to give a ripe lump of 200–300 g; tubs hold 5–50 kg.
Raw whole sheep milk of the Pramenka breed (Dub strain)Not standardised for fat and not heat-treated[repovacki-spec]
Raw whole cow milkup to 20 %[repovacki-spec]
Animal rennet, at the dose in the rennet maker's instructions, diluted in lukewarm water[repovacki-spec]
Kitchen saltup to 1 % rubbed on, then up to 3 % between layers[repovacki-spec]
Fresh brine or salted whey, to replace the old liquid during ripeningup to 3 % salt[repovacki-spec]
Starternone added; the specification says production uses no additions except animal rennet and kitchen salt

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.1 months

Start
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4 °C

What changes: Starting material: raw sheep milk, strained through cloth

Step 1 of 7
Strain and hold the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
4 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Evening milk chilled overnight is warmed back to setting temperature before it is mixed with morning milk.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Raw whole sheep milk, with up to 20 % cow milk allowed, is set with animal rennet at 30–35 °C for 80–150 minutes. The curd is cut into large cubes, drained in small cloth bags that are twisted into oval lumps and hung at least 8 hours, then salted and packed in tubs under a weighted wooden lid. The lumps ripen at least 2 months in salted whey or brine, with no air. Made in 7 steps over 2.1 months. The longest step, ripen in brine, takes at least 2 months (UG "Farmer" Konjic 2023). Salt is up to 3 % (UG "Farmer" Konjic 2023). Natural microflora of the raw milk, which the specification says is kept because the milk is not heat-treated; it names no species does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsSet[repovacki-spec]Ripen in brine
Temperature4 °CSet[repovacki-spec]Strain and hold the milk
Saltup to 3 %Set[repovacki-spec]Salt and pack in tubs

What makes this one different

A white brined cheese that is drained in twisted cloth bags into small oval lumps rather than cut into slabs, so it is sold whole; the specification calls it somewhat less salty (at most 4 %) than the white brined cheeses as a group.

Milk
Raw whole sheep milk, with up to 20 % raw cow milk; never standardised or heat-treated
Composition
At least 40 % dry matter and 45 % fat in dry matter; salt at most 4 %
Size
Oval lump with no rind, 200–400 g, with the mark of the cloth tie

Related ferments

Safety

The cheese is made from raw milk. The specification requires milk not used within 2 hours to be chilled, and all milk to be made into cheese within 24 hours. Ripening lasts at least 2 months under brine. The US FDA says ageing raw-milk cheese for 60 days may not eliminate or adequately reduce E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, and Listeria may grow in some cheeses while they age.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The specification quotes Popović (1931) on summer grazing rights on Bitovnja held by Repovci and nearby villages, where butter and a skim-milk cheese were made. The Avdibegović family of Repovci began making the brined cheese in 1967 with help from the Konjic cooperative and the Sarajevo agriculture faculty. The Food Safety Agency's register overview records the application as lodged on 23 October 2023 and the name as entered in the BiH register on 19 August 2024.

  1. [repovacki-spec] UG "Farmer" Konjic, Specifikacija proizvoda "Repovački sir", zaštićena oznaka porijekla (Konjic, 2023), published by the Food Safety Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovinaspec
  2. [repovacki-register] Agencija za sigurnost hrane BiH, Izvod iz registra zaštićenih oznaka porijekla, "Repovački sir" (ZOP, entered 19.08.2024; Sl. glasnik BiH 58/24)gov
  3. [fsa-overview] Agencija za sigurnost hrane BiH, Geografske oznake i oznake garantirano tradicionalnog specijaliteta - pregled registriranih prehrambenih proizvoda u Bosni i Hercegovini (Mostar, 16 January 2025), register table row for Repovački sirgov
  4. [fda-rawcheese2016] US Food and Drug Administration 2016, FY 2014–2016 Microbiological Sampling Assignment Summary Report, Raw Milk Cheese Aged 60 Daysgov