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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Montenegro, Njeguši village on Mount Lovćen and the area around it

Njeguški sir

Njeguški sir is a full-fat cheese from the village of Njeguši on Mount Lovćen, made from raw sheep milk set with lamb rennet, pressed under a stone and dry-salted in a wooden chest. It ripens about a month on wooden shelves in stone cellars, and can then be smoked or kept under oil. Today many makers mix in cow or goat milk. Made in 8 steps over 33 days. The longest step, ripen on wooden shelves in a stone cellar, takes 30 days (Cardinali F. et al. 2024). Salt is 0.7–1.8 % (Cardinali F. et al. 2024). Lactococcus lactis and Streptococcus thermophilus do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step30 daysReported[cardinali2024]Ripen on wooden shelves in a stone cellar
Temperature35 °CReported[cardinali2024]Filter and warm the raw milk
Salt0.7–1.8 %Measured[cardinali2024]Ripen on wooden shelves in a stone cellar
AciditypH 4.4–4.8Measured[cardinali2024]Ripen on wooden shelves in a stone cellar
Fully documentedCheese33 daysnone; a 2015 study found its traditional method meets Montenegro's law on designations of originFamily: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)More hard sheep and goat cheesesMore from Europe

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceFarm-household cheese with no fixed batch size. The only proportions found are the 70 % sheep and 30 % cow milk used by the three producers sampled in 2024.
Raw sheep milk · The original milk; cow and goat milk, or mixes, are now often used[mirecki2015]
70 % sheep milk, 30 % cow milkMixed milk · The mix used by all three producers in the 2024 study[cardinali2024]
Natural lamb rennet · From a lamb's stomach[cardinali2024]
Sea salt · Rubbed on dry, 2–3 times a day for 2 days[cardinali2024]
No starter culture · The cheese ferments with the milk's own microbes[cardinali2024]
Starterspontaneous (raw-milk flora); lamb rennet

Total time across the recorded steps: 33 days

Start
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35 °C

What changes: The cooled raw sheep milk is strained through cloth and warmed

Step 1 of 8
Filter and warm the raw milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
35 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
S. thermophilus
Yeasts

The cooled raw milk is filtered through cheesecloth before warming.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Unlike most Balkan white cheeses it is not kept in brine. It is pressed under a stone, dry-salted in a wooden chest and ripened dry on shelves. Some cheeses then go under oil or into smoke.

Milk
Sheep milk originally; now often a mix with cow or goat milk
Size
Low cylinder 3–5 cm high, 15–25 cm across, about 1–2.5 kg
Composition
51.73 % fat in dry matter and 60.07 % moisture on a fat-free basis in cheese from five Njeguši households

Related ferments

Variants

  • SmokedRipe cheese exposed to smoke.
  • Under oilRipe or dried cheese kept in maize, wheat or olive oil.

Safety

Made from raw milk. Cheeses from three producers had pH 4.38–4.80; Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and staphylococcal enterotoxins were not found, but E. coli and other Enterobacteriaceae counts were relatively high and biogenic amines varied. The study authors call for better hygiene in making.

Hazards the sources name: Escherichia coli and other Enterobacteriaceae, at relatively high counts; Opportunistic pathogenic yeasts Magnusiomyces capitatus and Wickerhamiella pararugosa.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Written traces of the cheese go back to the 16th century, according to a 2025 article. Some authors suggest the Roman Caseus Doclestes from ancient Doclea was a forerunner. A 2008 MSc thesis studied how its origin could be protected.

  1. [cardinali2024] Cardinali F. et al. 2024, A comprehensive study on the autochthonous microbiota, volatilome, physico-chemical, and morpho-textural features of Montenegrin Njeguški cheese, Food Research International 197:115169paper
  2. [mirecki2015] Mirecki S., Popović N., Antunac N., Mikulec N., Plavljanić D. 2015, Production technology and some quality parameters of Njeguši cheese, Mljekarstvo 65(4):280–286 (abstract)paper
  3. [ciric2008] Ćirić G. 2008, Specifičnosti oznaka geografskog porekla i osobina Njeguškog sira, MSc thesis, University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Agriculture (AGRIS record)archive
  4. [me] Krcunović A. 2025, Sir je simbol kulture, tradicije i gostoprimstva u Crnoj Gori, Primorski.meweb