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Nestling in the rich pastures of Kolan on the low lying rocky Island of Pag in the Adriatic Sea, Croatia's most awarded cheese producer have been taking advantage of the perfect cheese making conditions and producing award wining Paški Sir since 1995.

Sirana Gligora's portfolio of awards is already bordering on impressive and they don't come much bigger than the Best New Cheese Trophy from the World Cheese Awards. Taking a closer look at our cheeses will reveal some of the skills and expertise that goes into creating Croatia's finest cheeses.

An Infusion of artisan skills and modern technology The Gligora family can trace their own cheese making ancestry back hundreds of years from where artisan skills are pass through the generations and are regarded with as much care and attention as a family heirloom. Indeed it was Mr. Ivan Gligora, the founder of Sirana Gligora who took these skills to the next level by becoming the first qualified dairy technologist from the island. Today the Gligora Dairy uses some of the most sophisticated dairy machinery in its cheese production, but an artisan cheese maker with generations of knowledge at his fingertips is directing the creation of each batch and responding to the different qualities in the milk. The result is not a uniformed cheese but a true artisan high class product.

Paški Sir - Island of Pag Cheese Produced on the Island of Pag since ancient times where a powerful winter wind brings sea salt to the hardy aromatic plant life on the rocky pastures. Paški Sir is made using 100% Paška Ovca milk, a breed of sheep that has evolved on the island in these conditions to deliver a milk that is high in butter fat and protein, which of course is excellent for making cheese. The milk is thermised which allows the terroir to imbues itself into this stunningly creamy and extraordinarily tasty cheese. With a perfect balance between saltiness and acidity and a delightful lingering finish to savour, it's easy to see why our Paški Sir is held in such high regard. Aged for a minimum of 5 months or 12 months for mature Paški Sir, the cheese will crumble and melt in your mouth. The mature cheese displays a grainy texture which is the result of protein salt crystals forming in the eyes, a true sign of excellence. Kozlar The straights of Kotar in Croatia provide the pastures for the goats that like the sheep of Pag, are hand milked and farmed to traditional methods. The abundance of mineral water in the rich and fertile plains of Kotar permeates into the taste of our creamy goat cheese. Using the same artisan skills with a hands-on approach to developing the curds, we ensure that each batch is made to perfection. Aged for a minimum of 30 days, Kozlar is a fresh and creamy cheese with a slight citrus finish.

Žigljen A delicate infusion of cow and sheep milk which is sourced from the Dalmatian Hinterland and aged for a minimum of 4 months in our limestone cave. Newly built with SAPARD EU funding, our cave can now accommodate up to 75,000 wheels of cheese and has a fully controllable climate where our team of skilled affinures carefully turn and coat each wheel in locally produced olive oil. This mixed milk cheese has a distinguished and unique taste which is rounded off with a slightly spicy finish. Kolan Again produced from thermised cow milk from the Dalmatian Hinterland, carefully selected from herds that only graze upon natural grass and hay. This mild and pleasing cow milk cheese is named after the village in where Sirana Gligora sits. Milder in taste and colour than our other products, Kolan is aged for a minimum of 4 months where no attention to detail is overlooked during the ageing process. Like all Sirana Gligora cheeses, Kolan is washed in brine and rubbed with local olive oil helps keep the moisture inside and adds to the smooth finish.

Sirana Gligora is committed to sustaining ethical and traditional farming in Croatia, and in particular on the Island of Pag where sheep farming is often the most important source of income for many families. We have over 200 sheep of our own but we help support our community by sustaining a fair price for Pag sheep milk which is amongst the most expensive milk in Europe, we buy from over 150 of the island farmers and continue to invest for future generations to come