Pirotski kačkavalj

This Serbian spun cheese is one of the hallmark products of the entire Pirot region. It is a pleasantly tangy cheese characterized by its bright-yellow crust and smooth surface. The cheese was originally made from sheep milk since the area was well-known for the two indigenous breeds—pirotska pramenka and pirotska pramenka oplemenena—which freely grazed on the slopes of Stara Planina (Old Mountain).

Following the changes in animal breeding, traditional cheese-making industry in Pirot has been slightly altered, and kačkavalj is nowadays produced from unpasteurized sheep's or cow's milk, or a combination of both. After milk processing and hand-stirring, the curd (baskija) is steamed in woven baskets.

The cheese is then formed into a flattened-cylinder shape before it is left to ripen, preferably for three to six months. The entire production process is manually done by skillful cheese artisans who are trying to preserve traditional techniques that were originally passed down from the nomadic sheep breeders known as Crnovunci.