🇧🇦 The cattle breeds of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Cattle in Bosnia and Herzegovina are met mainly at the table. Beef leads the country's meat dishes alongside lamb, while milk turns into kajmak, pavlaka, smoked and mountain cheeses and drinks such as ayran and kefir. Herding and breeds sit in the background; the kitchen is where the cow counts.

• Beef and lamb head Bosnian meat dishes, a pattern tied to the Muslim faith.
• Kajmak is a thick dairy cream close to clotted cream.
• Livno cheese, firm and yellow, comes from the town of Livno and nearby villages.
• Vlašić is a salty highland cheese from central Bosnia, akin to Travnički.
• Hercegovina makes cheese in sack, aged inside a sheep's skin.

Cattle in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Cattle in Bosnia and Herzegovina are met chiefly at the table. The country's cooking blends Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and Balkan threads, with further ties to Greek, Italian and Turkish food, and beef stands first among its meats, beside lamb. Milk counts among the everyday ingredients, and the dairy shelf is busy: kajmak, a thick cream close to clotted cream, soured pavlaka, a dry smoked cheese, and mountain cheeses from Livno and Vlašić. Ayran and kefir add cultured milk drinks. Bosnians value food that is natural and well made, and many recipes reach back to Ottoman days. The herds themselves, their breeds and their keepers, stay in the background of this picture; the cow is known by the beef, milk and cheese it yields.

Regions and communities

Place marks the dairy of Bosnia. Livno, a town in western Bosnia, lends its name to a firm yellow cheese made there and in nearby villages. In central Bosnia, villages on Vlašić Mountain make a salty highland cheese with much in common with Travnički. Hercegovina is home to cheese aged inside a sheep's skin, and its climate also suits vines, so wines come from places such as Mostar, Čitluk and Stolac. Community shapes the table as well: beef and lamb lead the cooking of Bosnian Muslims, while Bosnian Croats and Serbs may also eat pork.

Milk, butter and beef

Milk feeds a small but distinctive dairy culture. Kajmak is a thick cream much like clotted cream, and pavlaka is a soured cream in the manner of crème fraîche. Cheeses run from a dry, sharp, low-fat smoked cheese to the firm yellow Livno, the salty highland Vlašić, and Hercegovina's cheese in sack, which matures inside a sheep's skin. Milk is also drunk as ayran and kefir. Beef heads the typical meat dishes, with lamb close behind. Cream and cheese enrich pies such as sirnica, a cheese pie, and cured meats round out the board.