Pule: The World’s Rarest and Most Expensive Cheese

Pule is a rare and luxurious cheese from Serbia, renowned for being the most expensive cheese in the world. It is crafted from a unique blend of 60% Balkan donkey milk and 40% goat milk, giving it a soft, crumbly texture and a flavor that is nutty, slightly sweet, and often compared to manchego. This artisanal cheese is produced exclusively at the Zasavica Special Nature Reserve, a protected area dedicated to preserving biodiversity, including the endangered Balkan donkey.

What makes Pule so extraordinary is the rarity of its key ingredient—donkey milk. Unlike cows, which can yield up to 60 liters of milk a day, a female donkey, or jenny, produces only 1.5 to 2 liters daily, and not consistently throughout the year. To make just one kilogram of Pule cheese, about 25 liters of donkey milk are needed. This scarcity explains its staggering price of around US$1,300 per kilogram, making it more valuable than many luxury delicacies.

Currently, about 180 Balkan donkeys live at the Zasavica reserve, where they are hand-milked three times a day. Beyond its rarity, donkey milk is known for its nutritional qualities. It is rich in vitamins, minerals, and immune-boosting compounds, and has historically been valued for medicinal purposes. Cleopatra, for example, was said to bathe in donkey milk to maintain her skin’s softness.

While Pule is not widely available outside Serbia, it has attracted global attention from gourmet chefs and culinary enthusiasts. Its exclusivity, tied to the preservation of an endangered species and the labor-intensive production process, makes it both a culinary treasure and a symbol of artisanal craftsmanship. For those fortunate enough to taste it, Pule offers a once-in-a-lifetime experience that blends history, rarity, and flavor into one remarkable bite.
Pule: The World’s Rarest and Most Expensive Cheese