Cheese has been a dairy favourite among many since ancient times – its origins even pre-dating recorded history. It comes in several forms, flavours and textures and can feature in anything from a pizza to a platter accompanying a bottle of fine wine.
But there’s one type of cheese which you’re not very likely to come by very often – the world’s most expensive cheese.
Priced at a whopping €1,000 per kilo, Pule (meaning ‘foal’ in Serbian) is produced by the Zasavica Special Nature Reserve in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade. But what makes this cheese so ridiculously expensive? The answer is simple: donkey’s milk.
Manager of the reserve, Slobodan Simic, says that no other special ingredients are used to create this smoked cheese – the expensive price tag is based solely on the value of the donkey’s milk that goes into making it.
But don’t be too surprised – the value of donkey’s milk is not a recent phenomenon. Ancient Egyptian Queen Cleopatra is known to have bathed in donkey’s milk in order to save the beauty of her skin. It was also used as a form of disinfectant in ancient times. The Greeks regarded it as an excellent remedy for ailments, while the Romans considered it a luxury drink. Hippocrates would recommend it for treating different kinds of diseases, as well as a remedy against poisoning and for healing wounds.
The milk that goes into the world’s most expensive cheese is collected from 100 Balkan donkeys that make their home in the reserve. The cheese is low in milk fat which, according to Simic, is why no one else is making it.
The reserve’s success with Pule has even prompted its staff to find more uses for its donkey milk, including cosmetics and a special donkey milk liqueur.
Currently, Pule is made only on an advanced order basis, so you’ll have to get in quick to get your cut!View Comments