Donkey milk cheese meets success in Albania

"Donkey milk has the taste of love," said Fatiko Basha as she caressed her favourite, Liza, before collecting the animal's milk. It also makes what is reputed to be one of the most expensive cheeses in the world.

On a small farm in Albania's southern Gjirokaster region, Basha and her husband Veiz use donkey milk to make cheese, curd or whey.

For thousands of years, it has been praised for its numerous virtues.

The legend says that Cleopatra immersed herself in donkey milk baths that guaranteed her beauty and youth.

Legends aside, it "heals children, is a natural remedy for respiratory tracts, allergies and the immune system", Fatiko Basha said.

She cleaned one mother's teats, stroking the animal to try to get her milk flowing, as the foal, Xhoia ("Joy" in Albanian), looked on.

"Regardless of their age, donkeys are like children," Veiz said with a smile.

They need a lot of affection to produce milk, he said as the donkey started to bray to get his attention.

The donkeys have to be lactating of course, and milking starts when the foal is three months old.

Donkey milk became popular during the Covid-19 pandemic, which was when the Bashas decided to bring several to their farm.

Before long they were selling their milk not just in Albania but in Greece, Montenegro and North Macedonia.

Now, with around 30 females and four males, they plan to enlarge the herd from January, taking advantage of the natural pastures at the foot of the Gjirokaster mountains.

Nor are the Bashas the only ones tapping into the market: across the region, there are around fifteen donkey farms.

- 'White gold' -

Donkey milk may be as exceptional as its producers claim, but it is also rare.

You can expect to get only half a litre of milk (a little less than a pint) per animal per day.

That scarcity is what makes it so expensive, costing between 50 and 60 euros ($53 to 63) per kilo.

"Donkey milk is white gold," said Veiz Basha: hard to harvest, but every drop makes you happy.

For the past year, the Basha family has been producing creamy homemade cheese, as well as curd and whey, buying additional milk from local farmers.

"There is a high demand for donkey cheese, which is difficult to prepare," said their daughter Xhiko Basha, who prepares cheese for a local restaurant at her home in the nearby village of Lazarat.

And if the milk is expensive, the cost of the cheese is even higher: to produce just one kilo of cheese you need at least 25 litres of donkey milk -- or more than 1,000 euros' worth.

Sold at over 1,500 euros a kilo, it has the reputation of being one of the most expensive cheeses in the world.

"The French say that a meal without cheese is a beauty missing an eye, but donkey cheese is really the icing on the cake," said Jaco Meci, a veterinarian who also produces donkey cheese that features on the menu of Tirana restaurants.

Customers prefer it fresh, 48 hours after it has been prepared, said Elio Troque, owner of the Oxhaket restaurant in the capital.

"Expensive but very tasty, it is the perfect accompaniment to a meal with good wine," he added.

- A 'beauty secret' -

In her small workshop, pharmacist Fabjola Meci does not ferment milk to make cheese, but prepares a range of donkey milk cosmetics that have also gained in popularity in recent years.

"Donkey's milk is a real beauty secret," the 24-year-old said as she hurried to finish a final order of an ultra-soft day cream.

Meci has launched her own brand, Leva Natural, and with the festive season approaching she said she hoped to soon be able to export her donkey-milk products worldwide.

And she knows how to sell it, insisting: "The donkey's milk face cream is a delight... Once you've used it, it's hard to give it up."