🇵🇱 Polish cheeses

Polish cheese has two faces: the smoked and soft sheep's milk cheeses of the southern mountains, such as oscypek and bryndza, and the cow's milk cheeses of the lowlands, from everyday curd cheese to yellow cheese. The EU register protects five Polish cheese names: three PDO and two PGI. ¹¹²

Scale. Poland makes roughly 925,000–980,000 tonnes of cheese a year, among the largest volumes in the EU. Production concentrates where milk is plentiful: Podlaskie, Mazovia, Warmia-Mazury and Greater Poland. ¹² Yellow cheeses in the Gouda and Edam style are the largest segment, and fresh curd cheese (twaróg) remains a staple at home. Consumption has risen from about 10 kg a person in 2000 to about 16–18 kg in 2024. ¹²

Mountain cheeses. Oscypek is a 0.6–0.8 kg smoked spindle, made from May to September with at least 60% sheep's milk. ¹⁴ Redykołka uses the same kind of milk and smoke, but is small and shaped like an animal, bird, heart or spindle, up to 300 g, and is made from unpasteurised milk. ⁷ Bryndza Podhalańska, registered in 2007, is a soft rennet cheese, seasoned, broken up and mixed with salt, with cow's milk capped at 40%; it is also made only from May to September. ⁵⁶

Bundz and gołka. Bundz, listed nationally as bundz or grudka, is a delicate, sweetish rennet cheese from sheep's milk that sours slightly with age. ¹⁰ One travel report says that bryndza and redykołka are made from bundz, though the EU summaries describe them in their own terms. ¹⁵ Ser gazdowski, or gołka, is made entirely from cow's milk, weighs 150–200 g and is on the national list. ¹¹

Lowland PGIs. Ser koryciński swojski comes from three municipalities in Podlaskie and weighs 2.5–5 kg. It is sold fresh (2–4 days), matured (5–14 days) or ripe (over 14 days), and since the recent amendment may use raw or pasteurised milk. ⁸ Wielkopolski ser smażony is ripened curd cheese fried with butter at 90 °C or more, firm and elastic, plain or with caraway; salts that replace ripening are banned. ⁹¹⁶

Which list means what. The EU names are legally protected across the Union. ¹² Poland's national list of traditional products is a separate record of regional products, and appearing on it does not make a name EU-protected. ³ Oscypek appears on both, as does redykołka, while gołka is on the national list only. ¹¹¹

Slovak neighbours. Oscypek shares its history with Slovak oštiepok, and both names are legally accepted under an agreement between the countries. ⁴

Polish cheese or Slovak? Oscypek shares its history with Slovak oštiepok, and both names are legally accepted under an agreement between the two countries. Within Poland, the lists mean different things: the EU names are protected across the Union, while the national list of traditional products only records regional products. Oscypek and redykołka are on both, but gołka, made entirely from cow’s milk, is on the national list only, so it is not oscypek.

Read the name, not only the shape: a smoked spindle made only from cow’s milk is not oscypek. Look for the EU PDO mark (protected designation of origin) on Oscypek, Redykołka and Bryndza Podhalańska, and PGI on Ser koryciński swojski and Wielkopolski ser smażony. Redykołka is made from unpasteurised milk and ser koryciński may be, so check the label if you avoid raw milk. You will find them at a supermarket cheese counter or a delicatessen.

Why it matters to you. Read the name, not only the shape: a smoked spindle made only from cow's milk is not oscypek. ¹¹¹³¹⁴ Choose by use: a young koryciński is mild and squeaky, a ripe one drier and saltier. ⁸ Oscypek is fried with cranberries in Zakopane restaurants, and bryndza is strong and salty. ⁶¹⁵ Redykołka is made from unpasteurised milk and ser koryciński may be, so check the label if you avoid raw milk. ⁷⁸