TOWARDS THE end of March, a special effort to market lamb and sheep meat as well as dairy products from sheep was organised in front of the town hall in Považská Bystrica. Shepherds, farmers and sheep breeders from 16 farms and salaš – mountain cottages where sheep are kept during the grazing season – in the Púchov, Ilava and Považská Bystrica districts gathered to offer the results of their hard work to the public. The event was called ‘From Salaš to Town’ and was organised in this, its first year by the Regional Agricultural and Food Chamber in Považská Bystrica, the TASR newswire wrote.
“Apart from mutton and lamb, our farmers also offered various types of sheep's cheese which are made directly at the salaš without any pasteurisation, just like the famous bryndza. They offered žinčica, a curd-like product from sheep’s milk, korbáčiky, braids made of salted sheep's cheese, as well as sheep sausages,” Daniela Janičková, head of the regional chamber, told TASR, adding that many people know about mutton but few have ever tasted it. Farmers gave visitors a chance to sample it at a modest price.
Interest by residents of Považská Bystrica was unexpectedly high and it confirmed the organisers’ conviction that such events are useful for both the shepherds and consumers and should continue to be arranged in the future.
“Next time, we will get together and offer more presentations – more often – also to other towns in the region,” Janičková stated.
