“Donkey milk has the style of affection,” mentioned Fatiko Basha as she caressed her favorite, Liza, earlier than gathering the animal’s milk. It additionally makes what’s reputed to be one of the costly cheeses on the planet.
On a small farm in Albania’s southern Gjirokaster area, Basha and her husband Veiz use donkey milk to make cheese, curd or whey.
For hundreds of years, it has been praised for its quite a few virtues.
The legend says that Cleopatra immersed herself in donkey milk baths that assured her magnificence and youth.
Legends apart, it “heals kids, is a pure treatment for respiratory tracts, allergic reactions and the immune system”, Fatiko Basha mentioned.
She cleaned one mom’s teats, stroking the animal to attempt to get her milk flowing, because the foal, Xhoia (“Joy” in Albanian), seemed on.
“Regardless of their age, donkeys are like kids,” Veiz mentioned with a smile.
They want a variety of affection to supply milk, he mentioned because the donkey began to bray to get his consideration.
The donkeys need to be lactating after all, and milking begins when the foal is three months previous.
Donkey milk turned common through the Covid-19 pandemic, which was when the Bashas determined to carry a number of to their farm.
Before lengthy they have been promoting their milk not simply in Albania however in Greece, Montenegro and North Macedonia.
Now, with round 30 females and 4 males, they plan to enlarge the herd from January, profiting from the pure pastures on the foot of the Gjirokaster mountains.
Nor are the Bashas the one ones tapping into the market: throughout the area, there are round fifteen donkey farms.
– ‘White gold’ –
Donkey milk could also be as distinctive as its producers declare, however it’s also uncommon.
You can count on to get solely half a litre of milk (rather less than a pint) per animal per day.
That shortage is what makes it so costly, costing between 50 and 60 euros ($53 to 63) per kilo.
“Donkey milk is white gold,” mentioned Veiz Basha: laborious to reap, however each drop makes you cheerful.
For the previous 12 months, the Basha household has been producing creamy selfmade cheese, in addition to curd and whey, shopping for further milk from native farmers.
“There is a excessive demand for donkey cheese, which is troublesome to organize,” mentioned their daughter Xhiko Basha, who prepares cheese for an area restaurant at her residence within the close by village of Lazarat.
And if the milk is pricey, the price of the cheese is even greater: to supply only one kilo of cheese you want no less than 25 litres of donkey milk — or greater than 1,000 euros’ value.
Sold at over 1,500 euros a kilo, it has the popularity of being one of the costly cheeses on the planet.
“The French say {that a} meal with out cheese is a magnificence lacking an eye fixed, however donkey cheese is absolutely the icing on the cake,” mentioned Jaco Meci, a veterinarian who additionally produces donkey cheese that options on the menu of Tirana eating places.
Customers favor it recent, 48 hours after it has been ready, mentioned Elio Troque, proprietor of the Oxhaket restaurant within the capital.
“Expensive however very tasty, it’s the good accompaniment to a meal with good wine,” he added.
– A ‘magnificence secret’ –
In her small workshop, pharmacist Fabjola Meci doesn’t ferment milk to make cheese, however prepares a variety of donkey milk cosmetics which have additionally gained in reputation lately.
“Donkey’s milk is an actual magnificence secret,” the 24-year-old mentioned as she hurried to complete a remaining order of an ultra-soft day cream.
Meci has launched her personal model, Leva Natural, and with the festive season approaching she mentioned she hoped to quickly have the ability to export her donkey-milk merchandise worldwide.
And she is aware of methods to promote it, insisting: “The donkey’s milk face cream is a delight… Once you’ve got used it, it is laborious to provide it up.”
(Disclaimer: Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
