Mishavinë

Mishavinë is a cheese produced in the northern Albania. The cheese is closely associated with local pastoral traditions and is produced only in a limited number of villages in Malësi e Madhe.

History and culture

Mishavinë has been present in the area of Kelmend for over 100 years, and it may have been produced earlier than that. According to local accounts, the cheese was traditionally produced in the territory between the borders of Albania and Montenegro. The term Mishavinë is of Slavic origin, with misha meaning animal leather, and it is presumed that the cheese was formerly seasoned inside animal leather. Historically, however, the cross-border Albania-Montenegro area is described as being of Albanian ethnicity.
In customary practice, guests are received with mishavinë before other foods are served, as a sign of respect and hospitality.
In 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development certified mishavinë as one of four traditional Albanian products to receive the Traditional Specialty Guaranteed designation.

Production

The Kelmend area in the region of Malësi e Madhe accounts for most mishavinë production, which is confined to the villages of Selcë, Lepushë, Vukël, and Vermosh.
Mishavinë is produced by individual families using similar production processes, with variations mainly related to the type of milk used, which may be sheep milk, cow milk, or a combination of both. It is produced seasonally during the summer and preserved for use in winter. The curd is formed from measured milk, then shaped, lightly pressed to remove whey, and dried in shaded outdoor conditions. The cheese is later broken up, salted, and matured in perforated wooden containers that allow remaining liquid to drain. After a maturation period of about two months, the cheese develops a pale color with a straw hue and a coarse texture. Approximately 10 liters of cow milk and nearly 7 liters of sheep milk are required to produce 1 kilogram of mishavinë.
Cheese production takes place in family kitchens, and livestock are from local breeds. According to data gathered from surveys outlining how producers participate at different stages of mishavinë production, the majority of producers are women, accounting for 64 percent, with an average age between 45 and 60 years.
As of 2020, the market for mishavinë remained limited, with the main buyers being three restaurants organized through the Albanian Chefs' Association. The cheese is considered at risk due to continued migration and emigration from its area of production, reductions in livestock numbers per family, declining production quantities, and rising costs of raw materials.

Sensory properties

Mishavinë is described as having a buttery texture with increasingly sharp flavors over time.
Food journalist Dan Saladino described the cheese as straw-colored, "dense and crumbly," with a strong, sharp flavor and "the faintest hint of the animal skin". Travel writer Tristan Rutherford characterized it as "gooey" with a "beefy tang," likening it to "eating an animal in pasture" and describing it as a "bovine toffee" found nowhere else.