Artisanal goodness galore at Slovenian Cheese Festival
Brdo pri Kranju, 1 October - Cheese connoisseurs should head to the Brdo pri Kranju estate on Tuesday for the Festival of Slovenian Cheeses, promoting cheesemakers who use milk produced at their own farms or sourced locally.
Studor near Bohinj
A mobile cheese-making facility at the Pr' Odolneku farm in the Alpine area in north-western Slovenia, which makes the Bohinjsko cheese.
Photo: Tinkara Zupan/STA
File photo
The Association of Slovenian Farmhouse Cheese Producers hopes the festival, organised only for the second time, will become a regular annual fixture.
The event will feature some 30 cheese makers and several bigger cheese factories, association president Milan Brence told the press in Ljubljana last week. He believes that farmhouse cheesemaking is an important part of Slovenian heritage.
"Apart from the right ingredients and know-how, cheesemaking requires a lot of time. The purpose of cheesemaking, at least of true farmhouse cheesemaking, is not solely in economic gain. It must be fuelled by passion," said Brence.
The association has 120 members, but it is believed that there are some 150 farmhouse cheesemakers in Slovenia, according to Brence. He expressed hope that the state would provide more expert help for farmhouse cheesemakers to preserve the trade.