Pag cheese

A cheese made by the island

Pag cheese is a hard, full-flavoured cheese made from the milk of the island's own breed of sheep. It is firm, slightly salty and aromatic, and is considered by many the best cheese in Croatia. It is exported to many countries, and since 2019 its name has been protected in the European Union as a Protected Designation of Origin.

Salt, wind and wild herbs

In winter the Bora blows down from the Velebit mountains and covers the island with salty sea spray. Only hardy, fragrant plants survive, above all Pag sage, which in May covers the white limestone with purple flowers. The sheep graze freely on these salty, aromatic pastures, and that is what gives their milk, and the cheese, its unique taste.

Shepherds and stone huts

In 1774 the travel writer Alberto Fortis mentioned Pag's sea salt, sage honey, wool and cheese. Until the early 20th century shepherds milked their sheep and made cheese in dry-stone huts on the hills above the pastures. The pastures are still surrounded by long dry-stone walls that, seen from afar, look like Pag lace laid over the hills.

When the pastures became privately owned, the shepherds moved back to town and women took over the cheesemaking. Pag cheese became an important source of income for island families.

Where to taste it

You will find Pag cheese in the town's shops, markets and restaurants, and directly from local cheese dairies. Try it with olive oil, local bread and a glass of white wine.