Among Ukrainian traditional food, Ukrainian craft cheese is gaining popularity. It is more expensive, but natural: free from fatty oils and chemicals. Demand for this cheese exceeds the supply, and that makes family cheese factories develop the production and offer a bigger and bigger assortment. Besides that, craft cheese factories are generally opened for visitors and they offer excursions and cheese tasting to their guests.
If you are thinking what to buy in Ukraine to bring home – Ukrainian cheese is an excellent option.
If you would like to taste authentic and natural Ukrainian cheese and visit the best places in Ukraine at the same time, you can consider taking cheese gourmet trips such as Transcarpathian cheese and wine tour or Winter Wine and Cheese Transcarpathian tour.
Best cheese manufacturers you can visit in Lviv region in Ukraine:
The Carpathian cheese factory of the Komarnytskyi family
At the very center of the Boykos verkhovynas, in the village of Borynia, Turka region, the Komarnytskyi family restores cheese traditions of their land. The village used to be well-known all around Europe for its cheese thanks to the German colonists. They made cheese and took it from Borynia to Vienna, Prague, and Paris. Now you are welcomed to taste Boykos cheese by Bohdan and Natalia Komarnytskyi. They make “true” cheese called “Boykos cheese” and sharp brynza. According to Bohdan Komarnytskyi he was taught to make “live” cheese by guys from Transcarpathia, and who, previously, learned to make cheese from cheesemongers from Switzerland. “This cheese is tasty, nutritious and free from food additives, – said Bohdan Komarnytskyi. He recommends making cheese on your own. But for this, you need to have a lot of milk. To make 1 kilo of “live” cheese the same cheesemongers Komarnytskyi make, you need 11-12 liters of milk. You also need sourdough, mold for cheese, a thermometer, cheesecloth, tablets… and plenty of time, thoroughness and inspiration. If you lack the above-mentioned things, but you want “live” Boykos cheese, join us on our excursion “Heading for Boykos for cheese” and see a truly unique part of Ukraine Carpathians.
Contacts: Lviv oblast, Turka raion, Borynia village, the Carpathian cheese factory of the Komarnytskyi family, +38-(097)-497-32-33, https://www.facebook.com/bogdan.komarnits
You may also be interested in Gourmet trips.
Cheese factory “Lepta”
Founded in 2015, Lepta cheese factory is one of the most interesting places to visit in Lviv. It specializes in producing the Circassian cheese: classical and green-flavored cheese. It is made from cow’s milk. This cheese is soft and tender. “It is useful, fresh and simple to make,” they say in Lepta. It goes perfectly with morning coffee. You can buy the cheese in chain shops such as Dido, Eco-Lavka, and also at Provesin market. Besides that, Lepta delivers its products around Lviv at no delivery charge.
Contacts: Lviv oblast, Pustomyt raion, Borshchovychi village, cheese factory “Lepta”, +38-(098)-676-82-53, https://www.facebook.com/LEPTA777
Cheese factory “Nashi kizonky”
Not far from Briukhovychi town on Hamulets small village (near Mali Hrybovychi village), a mini cheese factory called “Nashi kizonky” (“Our little goats”) is settled. Here a woman makes soft and aged cheese from milk of 7 goats. “I found interest in making cheese when I was in Poland. There I spoke with a farmer, and I got involved in the idea of cheese-making, so I started to learn the processes. I tried hard by myself, and thanks to the internet and my meticulous attempts, I was a success. I didn’t have, as they say, bad shots”, says Mrs. Lesia. She has been making cheese for 3 years already, soft and hard varieties. “I’ve got 3-week-aged cheese Brie, and also I have hard-pressed cheese I cover with wax”, – continues the woman. She makes different varieties of cheese, sweet and spicy. There you can find cheese with tomatoes, black cumin, paprika and pumpkin seeds to name but a few. Mrs. Lesia wants the others also to get interest in cheese making and she wants to share her knowledge with all those who are eager to learn. “Cheesemaking is very interesting”, convinces the woman, who’s not only managed to make cheese; she has also successfully made goat-milk ice cream, soaps and jewels. Visit goat farm “Nashi kizonky” taking our trip “The attractions of Briukhovychi” during your holidays in Ukraine.
Contacts: Lviv oblast, Briukhovychi, and Mali Hrybovychi villages (on the border), cheese factory “Nashi kizonky”, +38-(097)-940-17-41, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002004514592
Cheese factory “Chesnyi syr”
Cheese factory “Chesnyi syr” (“The honest cheese”) was founded in 2015 and it is located in the picturesque Nadsiannia village of Vovchukhy, Horodok Region. Ecologically clean unskimmed milk is taken from a tried-and-true farm. According to the family recipes passed from generation to generation, they make honest cheese following the genuine recipes. The main cheese varieties at the factory make: classic and brined brynza, mozzarella, Gouda cheese, parmesan, Circassian cheese and Sulguni.
You can buy the cheese in supermarkets like Kumpel, Dido, and the market near Lviv railway station. They are also consumed in many restaurants in Lviv. The owner of the cheese factory keeps a close eye to be sure the products are always fresh, delicious, useful and honest.
Contacts: Lviv oblast, Horodok region, Vovchukhy village, cheese factory “Chesnyi syr”, +38-(063)-050-00-26, https://www.facebook.com/chesnyj.syr
Cheese factory “The Elisa’s farm” (Fromages d’Elise)
“The best cheese is made from happy goat’s milk!”, reads the motto of cheesemaker, Bernard Willem. He is a Belgian who lives and works in the Lviv area. In the village of Dmytrovychi that is 50 km away from Lviv, Bernard Willem founded Ukraine’s first organic goat farm in 2009. Goats there are happy. They are not chained, and it is forbidden to beat or shout at them. “Less stress, better cheese”, convinces the owner of the farm. He owns about 1000 goats and different varieties of cheese are produced from their milk: Dmitrovien, Crottin, traditional Bûche, one-year aged Тomet, half-a-year-aged Tom, light Ricotta and dessert cheese. Supermarkets, festivals, and restaurants offer the products from Elisa’s farm. If goat cheese is a new thing for you, welcome to the Elisa’s farm. Take our trip “The cherry bridge” and experience picturesque Dmytrovychi village, a warm welcome, delicious tasting, and cute animals.
Contacts: Lviv oblast, Mostyska raion, Dmytrovychi village, farming “Chevrette”, +38-(067)-673-49-70, http://chevrette.com.ua
Cheese factory “Kozulia”
In the village of Korosne, in Peremyshliany region, the farm, called Koza-Dereza, has been housing the family cheese factory since 2014. At Kozulia (‘The roe deer’), they produce cheese from sheep’s, goat’s and cow’s milk. The total number of cheese reaches about 20 varieties of soft, hard and half-hard groups. The bestsellers are The Giant, Valok goats cheese and hard-pressed Tsurkan sheep cheese that is aged for one year. Kozulia is the manufacturing branch of company Syrni mandry (‘The cheese trips’). You can buy the products of the cheese factory in shops of the same name in Lviv, or on their website. Quite soon, the company is planning to give tours around the cheese factory. In summer this year they are planning to open a tasting garden house, for all those who want to admire Alpine goats and familiarise themselves with craft cheese.
Contacts: Lviv oblast, Peremyshliany region, Korosne village, farming “Koza-dereza” http://cheesemandry.com
Farming “Lelyk”
18 kilometers away from Lviv, in the picturesque village of Kulykiv in Zhovkva region you can spot a large herd of black and white cows. Here the farm, called Lelyk, founded back in 1991, is home to 200 cows. They produce cottage cheese and brynza from the milk of these cows. “We haven’t produced hard-pressed cheese yet, but we are planning to do this” says the owner of the farm, Petro Lelyk, who adds: “besides cheese, we also make kefir, yogurt, butter, sour cream and of course milk”. These products are offered at Shuvar market, and also in shops Dido, Iz sela (“From the village”) and Syrna kazka (“The cheese fairy-tale”). “We have no problems with selling” says Petro Lelyk. He warmly greets visitors, so take the trip, The Sausage Way, to see his farm and taste his products.
Contacts: Lviv oblast, Zhovkva raion, Kulykiv village, farming “Lelyk”, +38-(067)-716-00-57, +38-(050)- 661-71-40, http://lelyk.com
Farming “Merinos-Zakhid”
Farming “Merinos-Zakhid” (“The merino sheep and the west”), located in Drohobych region, owes the biggest flock of sheep of the European breed in Eastern Ukraine, with 3500 species. They need three farms to host them all: in the village of Letnia, Pochaievychi and Zaluzhany. The latter, besides sheep, also holds 45 goats, the milk of which is used to produce Halloumi, Brie, Budz, The Boykos cheese and Horhan. You won’t find the cheese in shops, but you can taste them in Letnia village; here they give excursions and tastings for tourists. You can also taste here, not only cheese, but also natural berry nalyvkas. With almost 20 varieties, including blackberry, currant, strawberry, cherry, raspberry… ‘The tasting excursion lasts about 2 hours and only costs 80 UAH’, they told us, adding they are open for groups of tourists any day.
Contacts: Lviv oblast, Drohobych raion, Letnia village, farming “Merynos-Zakhid”, +38-(097)-164-15-13.
Mini-farm “Z harbuzovoho raiu”
The village of Maliovanka in Horodok region houses the mini-farm, Z harbuzovoho raiu, (“From the pumpkin paradise”). Here, they house birds, rabbits and pigs, make home-made canned vegetables and produce cheese: feta, cheese sticks for children, crottin, camembert, and uniquely made cheese varieties. “We marinade feta in oil infused with herbs and we made cheese sticks in chocolate (we use natural black chocolate) with cheese sticks),” they told us. They say they started to make cheese a long time ago for themselves. And two years ago they started to share it with people. “First we learned from books and the internet. We tried many times, had a lot of experiments. Last year we adopted methods of making cheese from Croatia,” told newly-weds Ihor and Solomiia Bratakh. Now they are working on making “The pumpkin paradise” better. They recently renovated the place and increased production capacity. The couple is planning to produce about ten kinds of cheese in different varieties. You can order the specialties from “The pumpkin paradise” on the Facebook page, or also buy in the chain store, Iz sela (“From the village”), where they offer feta and cheese sweets from this mini-farm. Quite soon you will also be able to witness how “The Pumpkin paradise” looks. When farmers finish all the preparations, visitors are welcomed.
Contacts: Lviv oblast, Horodok raion, Maliovanka village, mini-farm “From the pumpkin paradise”, +38-(098)-050-01-03, https://www.facebook.com/garbuzovyjraj
Graft cheese factory “Eco-gazda”
Founded in 2016 cheesemaking factory, Eco-gazda, is settled in Nyzhnie Husne village in the Turka region. The factory focuses on making cheese from cow’s milk. Eco-gazda does not have its farm yet, so they buy raw products from locals. This allows local farmers to make some money. The cheese factory performs quality control work. Milk is checked at the collection points and the place of production in particular. The cheese is then made by hand. “The secret of taste hides in aromatic plain and pure milk” they say at the cheese factory. Mostly they produce fresh brined cheese. Eco-gazda offers the following varieties of cheese: sulguni, scamorza, gazda cheese, mozzarella, ricotta and three varieties of Husne cheese. In Lviv, you can buy Eco-gazda cheese at markets Shuvar, Dobrobut and Narodnyi, and at chain stores like Syrni mandry (“The cheese trips”), Dido, Iz sela (“From the village”), Syrna kazka (“The cheese fairy-tale”) and Fermerska kramnychka (“The farm’s store”).
Contacts: Lviv oblast, Turka raion, Nyzhnie Husne village, cheese factory “Eco-gazda”, +38-(067)-332-72-37, +38-(050)-276-55-55, https://tuca.com.ua/tzov-eko-gazda.
Cheese factory “The Jersey”
Cheese factory, The Jersey, started to work in October in 2013. It is usual practice for the factory to experiment, improve and develop. The founder of the place is Viktoriia Knysh. She has two degrees, in jurisprudence and programing, but found her vocation in cheesemaking. Her pet project, The Jersey, got the name from a British breed of dairy cattle from Jersey. These are the Jersey breed cows that inhabit Selysko village in Pustomyty region. The cows give fat milk, up to 9%. It is used at the cheese factory next to the farm to produce fresh cheese (Pysanka, Premier, Hrushka, Shveik and Batiar), as well as aged cheese (Zolote Runo, Yanosh, Tom and Eneas). The assortment also includes blue cheese called Voloshka. To reach that quantity of cheese varieties Viktoriia Knysh studied cheesemaking processes of cheesemongers from Poland, Slovakia and France. At the cheese factory they continue studying and experimenting, so the assortment is getting richer. But it’s not the only thing they work on, the cheese factory also intensifies efforts to increase the volume of production.
You can get familiar with the products from The Jersey in Lviv at chain stores Syrni mandry (“The cheese trips”) and on the upper level of market Shuvari, where the cheese factory opened its first store, The Jersey, in 2017.
The cheese factory has also started to build their own tasting hall, hence The Jersey is expected to greet visitors very soon.
Contacts: Lviv oblasts, Pustomyty raion, Selysko village. https://www.facebook.com/Джерсей-Львівська-Сироварня-217442685257491/
Craft cheese factory “Holytsia”
Holytsia is settled in the mountain area, hence, the cheese factory and the cheese produced there are named after the mountain, Holytsia. Goat mini-farm, Two Katerynas, hosts the cheese factory in Tukhlia village, Skole region. Holytsia is not only the place where cheese is created. It is also an attraction for tourists to visit. Here you can see old Boykos stables and traditional barns that hold 40 goats, tasting goats cheeses, including smoked cheese and soft, two-week-aged cheese, as well as brynza made according to authentic Carpathian technology with 6month-2-year long aging. This brynza is salty, spicy and specifically flavored. “It has provoked great interest among our visitors” said Mrs. Kateryna, adding that the cheese factory also holds usual budz. At the cheese factory, they are planning to launch production of cheeses marinated with Carpathian herbs: oregano, thyme, yarrow and bishop’s weed. Kateryna Lisova has a special relationship with the area. She was born and raised in Alchevsk with no experience in cattle breeding. However, the injury she got in 2010, that made her learn to walk again, rocked her world. Back then, Kateryna Lisova got closer to nature. And when the second challenge struck, the beginning of the war, Kateryna settled in the Carpathians. Now the resident of Tukhlia village, who fell in love with nature, says she will never leave the Carpathians. She believes her cheese factory and mini-farm will develop. Kateryna looks forward to visitors. She will gladly give an excursion and offer cheese tasting during our trip, “Following the paths of Zakhar Berkut.
Contacts: Lviv oblast, Skole raion, Tukhlia village, goat mini farm “Two Katerynas”, +38-(096)-718-13-39, https://www.facebook.com/Козяча-ферма-Двох-Катерин-779148272267311/
Farming “Mukko”
Mukko is a young (started in 2015), but powerful and ambitious project that managed to enter the Ukraine-wide market in only 2 years. The owner is Nazar Kmit, the former soccer player, now he is a prospective farmer. In Stryia’s neighboring villages he owns goat and cow farms, a milk processing plant and a cheese factory. Milking operations at Mukko is machine-aided, the technology of cheese aging is professional and the recipes are Dutch; ultimately, everything that ensures quality cheese. You can buy them in small shops, in supermarkets (Rukavychka, Arsen, Silpo) and also in chain supermarkets like Winetime. You can also come to Uhersko village and see with your own eyes the kingdom of cheese, taste all the varieties and buy the products you like the most. Take an excursion to the cheese factory on some of our tours.
Contacts: Lviv oblast, Stryi raion, Uhersko village, Milk farm of the Prykarpattia “Mukko”, +38-(068)-605-85-51, http://mykko.com.ua
Let’s hit the road! To taste delicious and ecologically clean cheese from the best cheesemongers of the Lviv Land. This is a really unique side of this country that you should experience when you visit Ukraine, and it’s a great pleasure for us at “Vidviday” tour agency based in Lviv to help you with this (www.vidviday.ua).
