Syrna Mama is a family-run fromagerie in Berdychiv that grew out of making homemade cheese for a child. It was founded by Kateryna Matviichuk, a native of Berdychiv who started making cheese in her own kitchen during her second maternity leave and turned cheese-making into her main business in September 2022. The name is a combination of the two words where it all began: mama and cheese (syr).
Cheeses and Aging
The fromagerie produces about fifteen types of cheese, mostly semi-hard ones aged from three to six months. Among the signature cheeses are hard cheese with honey and coffee, and Mozaika, which is colored with cuttlefish ink and annatto; the recipes use only natural colorings. There are also fresh cheeses: cream cheese balls in oil with spices or seeds, suluguni sticks, and halloumi for grilling. In the first few years, the assortment was simpler: yogurt, cottage cheese, and brynza.
Milk and Equipment
The first batches were made from milk bought at the market, later from small farms, and now the fromagerie works under a contract with a large agricultural enterprise. Up to 80 liters of milk are processed in a single batch. With a grant from the employment center, they bought two automatic cheese vats. The founder is a certified dairy production technologist and oversees all batches herself.
Photo: Zhytomyr.info.
