Nanoški sir 
Nanoški sir is a hard cow's milk cheese from the upper Vipava Valley in Slovenia, protected at EU level since 2011. It slices cleanly and tastes slightly piquant, pleasantly salty and intense.
Key Facts
| Country of Origin | Slovenia |
| Specific Origin | Nanos plateau, Vipava Valley |
| Protection | PDO (2004), PDO (2011) |
| Milk Type | Slovenian Brown cow |
| Milk Treatment | Thermized or partially pasteurized |
| Fat Content | At least 45% fat in dry matter |
| Rind | Smooth, firm, and dry |
| Texture | Hard |
| Flavor | Piquant, slightly nutty |
| Aroma | Clean |
| Colors | Yellowish to intense yellow |
| Forms | Wheels (3–4 inches high, 13.4 inches in diameter) |
| Age | At least 60 days |
| Rennet Type | Animal |
What is Nanoški sir Cheese?
Cheese has been made on the Nanos plateau, the source of the name, since the sixteenth century. Nanos first appears in the urbarium of the Vipava manor in 1572, and a nineteenth century urbarium lists rents for the mountain pastures, proof that grazing was already well established. Three large grazing areas survive there today: Ravnik, Orlovše and Lipe. The eastern part of the plateau once belonged to the village grazing communities of Podnanos, Lozice and Podraga, the western part to those of Vrhpolje and Vipava.
Sheep farming and cheesemaking on the Nanos pastures dropped off sharply after World War II. Older residents of Trieste still remember the cheese, but after 1954 it could no longer be bought. Mlekarna Vipava began producing it again in 1986.
Sheep's milk is scarce now, so the cheese is made from heat treated cow's milk, drawn only from cows of the grey brown breed. The milk comes from Nanos, the Vipava Valley, the Karst, the Trnovo and Banjšice plateau, the Postojna basin and part of the Idrija hills. After ripening the cheese must hold at least 60 percent dry matter and at least 45 percent fat in dry matter. It ripens in the upper part of the Vipava Valley, under the burja wind that blows down off the plateau, and the true mold that forms on the surface is what fixes its typical taste.
A wheel is slightly rounded, 32 to 34 cm (12.6 to 13.4 inches) across and 7 to 12 cm (2.8 to 4.7 inches) high, weighing 8 to 9 kg (18 to 20 pounds). The rind runs yellow with brick red to brown tones, smooth and dry, without cracks or damage, and traces of noble mold show in places. Cut open, the paste is intensely yellow, elastic, supple and firm, with sparse small to medium eyes of irregular shape. The smell is clean. The taste is slightly piquant, pleasantly salty and intense.
The cheese is well suited to slicing. Slovenia registered the name as a protected food in 2003, and in September 2011 it gained protected designation of origin status across the European Union. The Nanoški sir economic interest grouping oversees production against the specification.
How Does Nanoški sir Cheese Compare?
The most relevant cheeses to compare Nanoški sir against.
