Ukrainian Farmer Makes Unique Cheeses

Since he was 8 years, Nazar Kmit has dreamed of being a professional football player. However, due to a serious injury, he quit sports and decided to start his own cheese farm at the age of 23.

“At first, going from football to cheese making was shocking, because these are completely different things. But over time, I understood that it’s a good business plan, and it’s needed in Ukraine,” Kmit said.

Kmit started his business by buying 300 Alpine goats in France. Now, his farm has almost 2,000 of them. The goats are fed with hay, which the farmer grows himself. They also eat mineral salt.

“In Subcarpathia, there are mountains, clean air, perfect conditions for animals, many good fields for haymaking. It’s great that God helped us find this land,” Kmit said.

Along with the farm’s chief process engineer, Kmit spent three months learning the secrets of cheese making in the Netherlands. It’s also where they bought all the necessary equipment.

“We are now in the hall of contactless milking. There is special equipment here: 24 goats are milked simultaneously. As of now, we are the only ones in Ukraine milking goats with such a machine. We have a frame, which scans the chip of each goat that has been milked. There is also a counter, which counts the liters of milk,” farm employee Lilia Dankovych said.

“Milk is pasteurized under 75 degrees. It is cooled instantly. Then it goes to the cheese maker. Next, the milk is soured, and the ferment is added,” chief process engineer of the farm Inna Sadorchyk said.

For approximately two hours, the fermented mass is pressed in a special equipment. Then, the cheese wheels go to a salt pool. Here, they are salted for 24 hours. After that, the cheese is sent for ripening.

About 8,000 cheese wheels ripen in the ripening room. They have to stay there for at least three months to be ready.

In order to make cheese with whiskey, more than eigh liters of the beverage are used for 50 liters of milk. The whiskey is purchased in Scotland.

“We are the first ones in Ukraine to make cheese with whiskey, it’s delicious. You can barely feel the alcohol in it, just a pleasant aftertaste. We also make cheeses with nuts, truffles, chili pepper, and spices. For example, with Fenugreek, it tastes like nuts. This cheese is very tasty,” Sadorchyk said.

For now, these cheeses can only be bought in Ukraine. But the farmer is planning to export the products to Europe next year.