Quality cheese from small producers is on the rise in Croatia.
Štefica Lončar’s day often begins at six. But, if she is getting ready to go with her cheeses to the Kvatrić farmers’ market, she sets her alarm clock to 4.15. But, she says it is not hard for her to get up so early since she loves her job. She does not even consider it a job, but more like a love. She has a meticulous approach to everything: children, home, her little dairy plant, and her cows. She know each by name, which is not so hard, especially now when she has only eight cows. It was much more difficult when she had three times as many, reports Vecernji List on November 7, 2015.
“There is a lot more work to be done now since my mother-in-law died, because she used to help me a lot. The guys also help, but I am always at home, so most of the work falls on me”, Štefica Lončar says about her sons, husband and father-in-law, her “greatest support”. The family farm she owns in Bedenica has won a gold medal for cooked semi-hard cheese and a silver medal for cooked semi-hard smoked cheese.
The customers in Zagreb who have still not tried her award-winning products at the Kvatrić market will be able to taste them at Ban Jelačić Square, during the first Croatian Festival of Traditional Cheeses. The award-winning cheeses are not, however, the only thing that Štefica’s hands produce daily. She regularly turns the milk into various kinds of fresh, cooked and smoked cheeses and cream.
“We daily have up to 150 litres of milk, depending on the time of year. Currently, not all cows provide milk, so we have about 60 litres a day”, says Štefica who has recently had an opportunity to welcome a new arrival in her barn. A small calf is a joy for the whole family, including Bundaš the dog, who was awake all night to see what was going on in the barn.
“Everybody is doing their part. The dog barks differently when it notices that the cows have moved away, or when a neighbour comes, or when a stranger enters the yard”, says Štefica whose cheeses are special because of the way the cows are fed. Unspoiled meadows in Bedenica are their main grazing grounds.
