5 Cheeses of Hegyalja to Taste with Tokaji Wines

Tokaj is one of the most complex wine regions in the world, with more or less clearly arranged grape varieties, and innumerable kinds of wines. With the expansion of dry wines the world has opened up in many respects, especially in the field of gastronomy. A world-class wine without food is only half the battle; in recent decades we are glad to see the widening palette of local ingredients that help to present wines, vineyards and styles.

This list may not begin with anyone other than Sándor Bodnár from Mád, who has come along an adventurous path within the world of gastronomy before founding a cheese manufacture in Mád in 2010. The wine region’s best cheeses are produced in his manufacture, mostly from cow's milk, more exactly from the milk of Hungarian pied cows grazing on the bank of Bodrog River. Each day 150 litres of special quality milk is processed, two third of it is turned into semi-hard cheese, which is matured in a cellar and wiped with salty peach spirit (pálinka) once a week. Cheese bonbon dipped in spices and seeds is also produced in the manufacture. The cheesecake is made of thick yoghurt with blue cheese aszú jelly. Besides the Swiss quality hard cheese matured for up to a year, homemade butter and yoghurts, the Bodnárs’ most famous trademark is the charcoal mature cheese that is a definite must to taste.

Tibor Szilágyi started his manufacture in Mezőzombor, but finally he settled down at the Tarcal foot of Mount Tokaj, and today he welcomes here his guests and customers. His cheeses are also made of farm-produced Hungarian pied cow milk. Their offering includes matured cheeses, yoghurts, cream cheeses and of course farm butter. In the workshop, open all year round, it is possible to taste the various products in groups. Main specialties: bodrogközi rúzsos, matured of Zemplén, cheese with pink pepper, thyme, smoked cheese, lump cheese, camembert-type soft cheese, and cream cheese.

The village of Olaszliszka, besides being home of great vintners and picturesque vineyards with one of the most beautiful Bodrog shore, has a cheese manufacture as well. The Kovács family participated in the Carpathian Braunvieh cattle breed rescue program in 2015 and since then Kende Gyula Kovács has continued keeping this kind of bovine (currently he is studying to be an agricultural engineer at the University of Debrecen). The cows arrived from Transylvania. This breed is tough and resistant, peaceful and easy to handle, can be kept outdoors, and likes living in hills and mountains. Their milk is characterised by higher content with 6% fat content. Besides the cattle, sheep, rabbits and horses also live at the farm, and later on the owners would like to expand the livestock with poultry. It is real family farming. The parents, Gyula Kovács and his wife Emese Somsák also take part in the daily processing operations, while their daughter Kincső deals with communication. They produce lump cheese, smoked cheese, yoghurt, cream cheese and grilling cheese. Their cheeses are characterised by clean taste that let the wines prevail.

From a special level of freedom started the cheese manufacture of Ildikó Nagybozsoky near Sárospatak at a romantic, hidden farm, in the first officially habitable straw house of Hungary. They produce exclusively cows’ milk cheese, their speciality is the excellent parenica, a cream cheese with garlic and basil. It’s possible to meet their cheeses at festivals and various events, but it’s also recommended to visit them in person.

AIt’s a rare thing these days, when it feels that in a family humbleness and the love of nature are stable values. Talking to the Firmánszky family we have the impression that things are so much simpler than as we, townspeople see it. Grapes turn into wine, and milk into cheese; both of them can be prepared through simple, natural processes, but it’s so rare to see such a gleam in the eyes and such an honest, simple kindness. Botond stepped out into the light with his own cheeses only a few years ago, but just as Firmánszky wines are capable of surprises, so their spicy cow cheeses deserve our attention.