Berliner Boersenzeitung - 'Taste of love': Donkey milk cheese meets success in Albania

EUR -
AED 3.859176
AFN 72.753501
ALL 98.235663
AMD 412.315919
ANG 1.893091
AOA 960.856694
ARS 1068.54222
AUD 1.640576
AWG 1.891243
AZN 1.767928
BAM 1.955894
BBD 2.120902
BDT 125.526041
BGN 1.952266
BHD 0.396244
BIF 3104.649417
BMD 1.050691
BND 1.411568
BOB 7.258349
BRL 6.277138
BSD 1.050441
BTN 89.066439
BWP 14.252957
BYN 3.437565
BYR 20593.535101
BZD 2.117282
CAD 1.485918
CDF 3015.482087
CHF 0.933436
CLF 0.037134
CLP 1024.634491
CNY 7.634526
CNH 7.637874
COP 4557.895677
CRC 527.125369
CUC 1.050691
CUP 27.8433
CVE 110.269782
CZK 25.07262
DJF 187.049002
DKK 7.457487
DOP 63.533058
DZD 140.600312
EGP 53.396197
ERN 15.760358
ETB 133.664033
FJD 2.433922
FKP 0.829328
GBP 0.823667
GEL 2.952259
GGP 0.829328
GHS 15.44067
GIP 0.829328
GMD 75.650282
GNF 9061.436098
GTQ 8.093312
GYD 219.690573
HKD 8.169797
HNL 26.633282
HRK 7.494848
HTG 137.585312
HUF 409.017
IDR 16766.70992
ILS 3.766384
IMP 0.829328
INR 89.15535
IQD 1376.079323
IRR 44220.965515
ISK 145.877574
JEP 0.829328
JMD 164.607922
JOD 0.745252
JPY 160.202469
KES 135.781034
KGS 91.20468
KHR 4223.163053
KMF 489.753098
KPW 945.621111
KRW 1504.42603
KWD 0.323171
KYD 0.87535
KZT 548.601624
LAK 23005.326127
LBP 94063.326967
LKR 304.827572
LRD 188.54728
LSL 18.72708
LTL 3.102416
LVL 0.635552
LYD 5.125247
MAD 10.472104
MDL 19.207107
MGA 4926.237084
MKD 61.533232
MMK 3412.601975
MNT 3570.246488
MOP 8.409485
MRU 41.648004
MUR 49.340468
MVR 16.184944
MWK 1821.387658
MXN 21.147353
MYR 4.660884
MZN 67.143961
NAD 18.72708
NGN 1626.658484
NIO 38.651676
NOK 11.675137
NPR 142.507858
NZD 1.809991
OMR 0.404536
PAB 1.050351
PEN 3.897488
PGK 4.249205
PHP 61.234773
PKR 292.171742
PLN 4.274157
PYG 8217.395477
QAR 3.829648
RON 4.966821
RSD 116.921891
RUB 110.003638
RWF 1463.770447
SAR 3.948594
SBD 8.808522
SCR 14.808699
SDG 631.992707
SEK 11.51861
SGD 1.412286
SHP 0.829328
SLE 23.956655
SLL 22032.460808
SOS 600.328892
SRD 36.989559
STD 21747.173388
SVC 9.19153
SYP 2639.89142
SZL 18.717079
THB 35.522272
TJS 11.480853
TMT 3.687924
TND 3.323428
TOP 2.460819
TRY 36.647399
TTD 7.129411
TWD 34.161942
TZS 2495.390323
UAH 43.862911
UGX 3843.18496
USD 1.050691
UYU 45.952212
UZS 13513.778993
VES 51.931215
VND 26683.337624
VUV 124.740095
WST 2.933098
XAF 655.988571
XAG 0.032641
XAU 0.000387
XCD 2.839544
XDR 0.797154
XOF 655.988571
XPF 119.331742
YER 263.066679
ZAR 18.548823
ZMK 9457.473127
ZMW 28.912116
ZWL 338.321934
  • RBGPF

    60.9600

    60.96

    +100%

  • CMSC

    0.0100

    24.63

    +0.04%

  • RYCEF

    0.0500

    7.33

    +0.68%

  • GSK

    -0.7600

    34.45

    -2.21%

  • BP

    0.2300

    30.33

    +0.76%

  • RELX

    0.2700

    47.34

    +0.57%

  • NGG

    -0.8700

    60.07

    -1.45%

  • VOD

    -0.0700

    8.77

    -0.8%

  • BTI

    0.0100

    37.74

    +0.03%

  • RIO

    0.1600

    64.98

    +0.25%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    13.2

    +0.3%

  • CMSD

    -0.1000

    24.29

    -0.41%

  • BCC

    0.0500

    142.48

    +0.04%

  • BCE

    -0.4900

    25.97

    -1.89%

  • AZN

    0.2200

    67.4

    +0.33%

  • JRI

    -0.0100

    13.3

    -0.08%

'Taste of love': Donkey milk cheese meets success in Albania
'Taste of love': Donkey milk cheese meets success in Albania / Photo: Adnan Beci - AFP

'Taste of love': Donkey milk cheese meets success in Albania

"Donkey milk has the taste of love," said Fatiko Basha as she caressed her favourite, Liza, before collecting the animal's milk. It also makes what is reputed to be one of the most expensive cheeses in the world.

Text size:

On a small farm in Albania's southern Gjirokaster region, Basha and her husband Veiz use donkey milk to make cheese, curd or whey.

For thousands of years, it has been praised for its numerous virtues.

The legend says that Cleopatra immersed herself in donkey milk baths that guaranteed her beauty and youth.

Legends aside, it "heals children, is a natural remedy for respiratory tracts, allergies and the immune system", Fatiko Basha said.

She cleaned one mother's teats, stroking the animal to try to get her milk flowing, as the foal, Xhoia ("Joy" in Albanian), looked on.

"Regardless of their age, donkeys are like children," Veiz said with a smile.

They need a lot of affection to produce milk, he said as the donkey started to bray to get his attention.

The donkeys have to be lactating of course, and milking starts when the foal is three months old.

Donkey milk became popular during the Covid-19 pandemic, which was when the Bashas decided to bring several to their farm.

Before long they were selling their milk not just in Albania but in Greece, Montenegro and North Macedonia.

Now, with around 30 females and four males, they plan to enlarge the herd from January, taking advantage of the natural pastures at the foot of the Gjirokaster mountains.

Nor are the Bashas the only ones tapping into the market: across the region, there are around fifteen donkey farms.

- 'White gold' -

Donkey milk may be as exceptional as its producers claim, but it is also rare.

You can expect to get only half a litre of milk (a little less than a pint) per animal per day.

That scarcity is what makes it so expensive, costing between 50 and 60 euros ($53 to 63) per kilo.

"Donkey milk is white gold," said Veiz Basha: hard to harvest, but every drop makes you happy.

For the past year, the Basha family has been producing creamy homemade cheese, as well as curd and whey, buying additional milk from local farmers.

"There is a high demand for donkey cheese, which is difficult to prepare," said their daughter Xhiko Basha, who prepares cheese for a local restaurant at her home in the nearby village of Lazarat.

And if the milk is expensive, the cost of the cheese is even higher: to produce just one kilo of cheese you need at least 25 litres of donkey milk -- or more than 1,000 euros' worth.

Sold at over 1,500 euros a kilo, it has the reputation of being one of the most expensive cheeses in the world.

"The French say that a meal without cheese is a beauty missing an eye, but donkey cheese is really the icing on the cake," said Jaco Meci, a veterinarian who also produces donkey cheese that features on the menu of Tirana restaurants.

Customers prefer it fresh, 48 hours after it has been prepared, said Elio Troque, owner of the Oxhaket restaurant in the capital.

"Expensive but very tasty, it is the perfect accompaniment to a meal with good wine," he added.

- A 'beauty secret' -

In her small workshop, pharmacist Fabjola Meci does not ferment milk to make cheese, but prepares a range of donkey milk cosmetics that have also gained in popularity in recent years.

"Donkey's milk is a real beauty secret," the 24-year-old said as she hurried to finish a final order of an ultra-soft day cream.

Meci has launched her own brand, Leva Natural, and with the festive season approaching she said she hoped to soon be able to export her donkey-milk products worldwide.

And she knows how to sell it, insisting: "The donkey's milk face cream is a delight... Once you've used it, it's hard to give it up."

(T.Renner--BBZ)