Braided threads of smoked or fresh sheep cheese, eaten as a snack. They are hand-plaited into whips in the villages of Orava, and Zázrivský and Oravský korbáčik hold EU protected geographical status.
The stretch depends on catching the curd inside a pH window of about a tenth of a point, and the plaiting is a protected craft — the PGI is as much about the hand-braiding as the milk.
What goes into it
- sheep’s milk, or cow’s milk
- rennet
- salt
- smoke, for the smoked version
How it is made
The curd is left to acidify until it reaches the narrow pH window where it will stretch, then kneaded in hot water and pulled into long fine threads. Those threads are plaited by hand into a whip — a job done by women in the Orava villages and reckoned in hours per kilogram — then brined and, for the smoked type, hung over a fire.
How long it takes: hours of hand-plaiting; eaten fresh or smoked and kept for weeks
How it is eaten
Pulled apart in strands with beer, or fried.
History
Hand-plaited into whips in the villages of Orava; Zázrivský and Oravský korbáčik hold EU protected geographical status.
Frequently asked questions
What is Korbáčiky?
Korbáčiky is a cheese & dairy from Slovakia: braided threads of smoked or fresh sheep cheese, eaten as a snack. Hand-plaited into whips in the villages of Orava; Zázrivský and Oravský korbáčik hold EU protected geographical status.
How is Korbáčiky made?
The curd is left to acidify until it reaches the narrow pH window where it will stretch, then kneaded in hot water and pulled into long fine threads. Those threads are plaited by hand into a whip — a job done by women in the Orava villages and reckoned in hours per kilogram — then brined and, for the smoked type, hung over a fire. It takes hours of hand-plaiting; eaten fresh or smoked and kept for weeks.
Can I make Korbáčiky at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. The stretch depends on catching the curd inside a pH window of about a tenth of a point, and the plaiting is a protected craft — the PGI is as much about the hand-braiding as the milk.
What goes into Korbáčiky?
Sheep’s milk, or cow’s milk, rennet, salt, smoke, for the smoked version.
How is Korbáčiky eaten?
Pulled apart in strands with beer, or fried.
