It's the most expensive cheese in the world, produced by just one farm in Serbia, but donkey cheese could be the next cult food item.
驢奶酪是世界上最昂貴的奶酪,全球僅有塞爾維亞一家農(nóng)場生產(chǎn),但其有望成為新一代熱捧食品。
Although incredibly rare, the cheese is being hailed as a health food thanks to its nutritional value - donkey milk is exceptionally high in protein, calcium and omega 3 fatty acids, which in turn are extremely good for maintaining cardiovascular health.
雖然極其稀有,但因其營養(yǎng)價值,驢奶酪被稱為健康食品——驢奶的蛋白質(zhì)、鈣質(zhì)和歐米伽3脂肪酸含量都異常地高,這對保持心血管健康大有裨益。
With more and more people claiming to have an intolerance to cow's milk and cheese, the donkey alternative is becoming an increasingly attractive option.
隨著越來越多的人自稱有牛奶和牛奶酪不耐受癥,驢奶酪也越來越受歡迎。
However donkey cheese's hefty price tag means it's unlikely you're going to see it on the shelves of your local Sainsbury's any time soon - the cheese costs 880 per kilo.
然而,驢奶酪高昂的價格意味著它近期不太可能出現(xiàn)在你當?shù)氐娜魉共锍胸浖苌?mdash;—因為它每千克的售價為880英鎊。
Slobodan Simi? is the world's only producer of donkey cheese - he does it all on his farm in Zasavica, 50 miles west of the Serbian capital Belgrade.
斯洛博丹•西米奇是全球驢奶酪唯一的生產(chǎn)商——他在位于塞爾維亞首都貝爾格萊德西邊50英里處的扎撒維卡農(nóng)場完成全部生產(chǎn)過程。
Despite starting out with just 12 donkeys 16 years ago, Simi?'s herd has now grown to nearly 300. The reason the cheese, known as pule, is so expensive is that it takes 25 litres of fresh donkey milk to make a single litre of cheese.
16年前,西米奇僅僅有12頭驢,而如今農(nóng)場的牲畜數(shù)量已接近300。 驢奶酪,即“普勒”奶酪如此昂貴的原因在于25升新鮮驢奶僅能做出1升奶酪。
What's more, donkeys produce a lot less milk than cows or goats to start with.
另外,驢的產(chǎn)奶量比奶?;蛏窖蛞俚枚?。
On Simi?’s farm, the female donkeys are milked by hand three times a day.
在西米奇的農(nóng)場,每天要給母驢手工擠3次奶。
But the difficulty in creating cheese lies in the fact that donkey milk doesn't have enough casein to coagulate - how Simi? gets around this is a closely-guarded secret.
但制造驢奶酪的困難在于驢奶的酪蛋白不足,難以凝成奶酪——至于其秘方,西米奇嚴守如瓶。
Although not many people in the world have tasted the rare cheese, it is said to be similar to Manchego with a rich, nutty, earthy flavour and a crumbly texture.
盡管世界上嘗過稀罕的驢奶酪的人并不多,但據(jù)說,其與曼徹戈奶酪相似,味道濃郁深厚,有堅果口味和鄉(xiāng)土味道,且口感松脆。
One person who is a fan of the filling cheese, however, is Novak Djokovic, who was a few years ago reported to have bought the whole supply, a claim he denied.
網(wǎng)球名將諾瓦克•德約科維奇就是驢奶酪的狂熱愛好者之一。據(jù)報道,他曾在幾年前買斷所有的驢奶酪。但他對此予以否認。
And if legend is to be believed, Queen Cleopatra was also a fan - she is said to have bathed in asses milk to maintain her beauty.
如果古埃及傳說是可信的話,埃及艷后克利奧佩特拉也鐘情于驢奶酪——據(jù)稱她用驢奶沐浴以使容顏永駐。
Donkey milk has a number of health benefits which make it superior to cow's milk - it has 60 times as much vitamin C as the more common milk.
驢奶的健康益處數(shù)不勝數(shù),使之優(yōu)于牛奶——其維C含量是普通牛奶的60倍。
Donkey milk also has anti-allergen properties and is just 1% fat.
驢奶還含有抗過敏物質(zhì),而且脂肪含量僅占1%。
What's more, it's been claimed that consuming even just a tiny amount daily can help tackle asthma and bronchitis.
另外,據(jù)稱只要每日食用少量驢奶就有助于治療哮喘和支氣管炎。
But unless it becomes cheaper to produce, it's unlikely donkey cheese is going to give the wider population a health-boost any time soon.
然而,若其價格一直居高不下,驢奶酪的健康價值也無法早日惠及大眾。