Croatia: Cheese hunting on Pag Island

Travels with David: Asia, Africa and The Balkans

The long, skinny island of Pag on Croatia’s Adriatic coast, historically a center of the salt industry, is famous for its sheep’s milk cheese.

Salt has been produced in the region for more than one thousand years, but the industry could be even older, dating from Roman times. The basic process of salt extraction has not changed much. Sea water is channeled into shallow pools which are closed off. Over time, exposed to the sun and wind, the water evaporates, and the salt begins to crystallize and settle.

Salt was valued not only as a seasoning but because if its ability to preserve food. From the 12th to the 14th centuries, the Venetian Empire and the rulers of Croatia and Hungary fought for control of Pag and other islands. At the height of the industry, Pag had nine salt warehouses. One of the remaining ones houses the salt museum.

After the tour, Stephanie and I went in search of the cheese. It owes its distinctive flavor to the topography and climate. In winter, a strong, cool, dry wind from the coastal mountain range picks up salt water and scatters a white salty dust across the rocky hills. Pag's sheep graze freely, giving their milk a distinctive salty taste that is preserved in the cheese.

Just around the corner from the museum, we found Teresa who invited us into her kitchen where she makes the cheese.