Pule cheese

{{Short description|Serbian donkey and goat's milk cheese}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2015}}

{{Infobox cheese

| name = Pule

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| country = Serbia

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| town = Sremska Mitrovica, at the Zasavica Special Nature Reserve

| source = Donkeys and goats

| pasteurised =

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Pule cheese or magareći sir, is a Serbian cheese made from 60% Balkan donkey milk and 40% goat's milk.{{Cite news|url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160720-a-cheese-made-from-donkey-milk|title=A cheese made from... donkey milk?|last=Vuković|first=Kristin|work=BBC|date=27 July 2016|access-date=30 October 2020}}{{Cite journal|title=Characterization of extra-hard cheese produced from donkeys' and caprine milk mixture|journal=Dairy Science & Technology|author1=Bojana M.|last2=Mandić|first2=Anamarija I.|last3=Hadnađev|first3=Miroslav S.|last4=Gubić|first4=Jasmina M.|last5=Milovanović|first5=Ivan Lj.|last6=Tomić|first6=Jelena M.|year=2016|volume=96|issue=2|pages=227–241|url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01532293/file/13594_2015_Article_261.pdf|doi=10.1007/s13594-015-0261-2|s2cid=73716149|doi-access=free}}

The cheese is produced in Zasavica Nature Reserve.

Pule is reportedly the "world's most expensive cheese", fetching US$1300 per kilogram.{{cite news |last1=Roberts |first1=Brian |title=These Are The 3 Most Expensive Cheeses In The World |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianroberts/2018/02/18/most-expensive-cheeses-in-the-world/?sh=2107982a1447 |access-date=30 October 2020 |work=Forbes |date=18 February 2018}}{{cite news | url=https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/tennis-busted-racquet/novak-djokovic-buying-world-entire-supply-donkey-cheese-152716656--ten.html | title=Novak Djokovic is buying the world's entire supply of donkey cheese | work=Yahoo! Sports | date=December 10, 2012 | access-date=December 11, 2012 | author=Busbee, Jay}}{{cite web|url=http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/novak-djokovic-buys-worlds-supply-donkey-cheese-131716797--abc-news-topstories.html|title=Tennis Star Buys Supply of Rare Cheese|work=ABC new3s|last=Dolak|first=Kevin|date=December 10, 2012|access-date=December 10, 2012}} It is so expensive because of its difficulty to produce, and its rarity: there are only about 100 jennies in the landrace of Balkan donkeys that are milked for Pule-making and it takes {{convert|25|L|USgal|frac=4}} of milk to create {{convert|1|kg|lboz|spell=in}} of cheese.{{Cite web |date=2016-11-22 |title=Donkey cheese is the latest health food - but it costs £880 per kilo |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/donkey-cheese-health-benefits-cost-a7431966.html |access-date=2023-07-24 |website=The Independent |language=en}}

The taste of Pule cheese is reputed to be similar to that of manchego, a combination of nutty and earthy flavours, accompanied by a crumbly texture.