The world’s most expensive cheese comes from the pule donkey and is produced on one specific farm only. No other farm in the world has figured out how to produce it. It takes much longer to prepare this cheese as compared to other cheeses. One pound of this cheese will set you back $600. But what makes this cheese so rare and expensive?
Pule donkey cheese is found in the Zasavica Special Nature Reserve in Serbia. The reserve was founded by Slobodan Simić, about 24 years ago. Only this region protects this endangered species of Balkan donkey. Pule cheese is prepared with 40% of goat’s milk and 60% of donkey’s milk and a mixture of unknown bacteria and additives. It needs many months as well as many donkeys for its' production. The mixture helps the milk form curds, which is a crucial stage of making cheese. However, without this mix, it is impossible to make pule. The lack of these additional substances and bacteria is what helps the milk coagulate. The recipe is a secret. Experts have tried to make it but it has all been to no avail.
Slobodan Simić stumbled upon the recipe by accident. The aim was to preserve the donkeys in Serbia. The numbers were as low as 1,000. So with this mission in mind, he built the first-ever farm for donkey-dairy farming. By the time they had about 200 donkeys, there was surplus milk. The first thing that came to mind was to make cheese. And now it is the most expensive cheese in the world.