Paski Sir on a plate.

The island of Pag in Croatia is quite barren, but it has the perfect condition top make some of the best sheep cheese in the world.

I am an absolute cheese lover and if I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, then it would be cheese. So I have quite an interest in cheese and I have many cheeses around the world that I really love and Paski Sir from the island of Pag in Croatia is one of them.

Paski Sir cheese.

What makes Paski Sir so special?

Pag Island.

The island of Pag is located in the Adriatic sea and it’s quite barren as there are strong winds coming from the sea and cold winds coming from the nearby mountains on the croatian mainland, called the Bura. There is also a very high concentration of salt in the Adriatic sea and that means that the plants on the island of Pag are often covered in a thin layer of salt. That means that only the strongest and most aromatic plants survive on the island and these are the plants that the sheep on Pag island lives on, as they are grazing outside all year round. This gives the Paski Sir cheese a certain finesse that you don’t see with most other cheeses. Paski Sir is not a strong cheese, so it can be enjoyed by most people, but it has that special touch that the harsh living conditions for the plants has created.

Visit Pag and try the cheese.

Visiting a cheese factory on Pag Island.

Pag Island is a very pretty and unique island to visit. There are roughly 9000 permanent inhabitants on the island and most of them has relatives in Australia, as there was a big migration from this part of former Yugoslavia to Australia during the 1950’s and 60’s. The cheese factories on the island are open for visits. If you call them in advance, then you can book a tour of the factory with a cheese and wine tasting in the end (did you know that the Zinfandel grape originates from Croatia?).

Travel, wine and cheese. It doesn’t really get better, does it? 🙂

                                      Pag Island is also known for lace making.

Narrow street on Pag Island.

Door on Pag Island.

Claus.