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Dragica Milovac did not inherit her craft. She did not learn it on some quick course. She built it slowly, over years, on her own farm, with her own cows, her own milk and the determination to make something special out of cheese. Fifteen years later, the Janj pletenica (braided cheese) and the cheeses from her farm tell an authentic story of honest hard work, of wanting the farm to bear real fruit, and of seeing, at the end of each day, how much good she and her family achieved together.
From farm to braid: everything is in her hands
Dragica started out, as we said, on her own farm, with her own cows grazing the untouched pastures of Janj. The milk she works with is not bought; it comes from cows she knows, feeds and looks after every day. That link between animal, land and finished product is the most beautiful bridge between old times and new, and it is why Janj cheese takes on a whole new dimension of flavour.
“Our cows graze on herbs,” Dragica told us, and the line delighted us because it simply describes everything industry cannot reproduce and everything we remember from long ago. You will not find that aroma in a factory, or that fullness of flavour on a standardised line. It exists only in the milk of cows that spent the day on a meadow full of medicinal herbs.
Why homemade cow’s cheese is more than a bite
The Janj pletenica is a particularly valuable speciality: a cheese that is not only a pleasure to eat but a highly nutritious food that earns its place on the table every day.
By its composition, fresh cow’s cheese is one of the most valuable foods in the dairy group. Every 100 grams of fresh homemade cow’s cheese contains around 22 grams of high-quality protein with all the essential amino acids, making it a full substitute for meat. The main protein in cheese is casein, which the body breaks down more slowly than whey protein, keeping you full for longer.
Cheese is also one of the best dietary sources of calcium, essential for healthy bones and teeth and normal muscle function. Alongside calcium, homemade cheese is rich in phosphorus, magnesium, vitamin A and B vitamins, especially B12, which the nervous system needs.
What makes Dragica Milovac’s Janj cheese special is not only what you see in the nutrition table. Cows grazing untouched Janj meadows full of medicinal herbs give milk richer in natural aromatic compounds and fatty acids than cows fed industrial feed. That terroir, the soil, plants, water and air of a particular place, is why homemade cheese from Janj has a flavour no city equivalent can match, even with the latest technology.
Cheese made from the milk of cows that grazed on herbs that morning is not marketing. It is chemistry, biology and dedication all in one.
A braid still warm, a flavour you cannot describe
We asked Dragica about her favourite moment with her cheese. She answered without hesitation.
“The braid has a special taste when I have just made it, while it is still warm. You cannot describe that taste and texture until you try it.” That tells you everything about the authenticity behind this product. A cheese with its own moment, when it has just been made and is still alive with warmth and with the hands that shaped it; a cheese with its own architecture and a texture that changes over time. You cannot order a cheese like that in a shop. You can only find it at Dragica’s, in all its authenticity and beauty.
Every braid is special, especially when it is for a celebration
Dragica also makes hard cheese and rolled cheese, but the braid and kajmak are her regular offer, available all year round. She makes hard and rolled cheese “depending on the time”, which may be the most honest thing a small producer can say. On a small family farm the rhythm is not dictated by a plan but by what is possible, by will and by the moment.
And when that moment comes and Dragica lets her imagination run free, the most beautiful things are made for slavas, celebrations and happy occasions. Cheese that goes with joy: perhaps the loveliest description of any craft there is.
Fifteen years and one conviction
Dragica Milovac did not learn the craft from her grandmother or from a master. She taught herself, “with great will and effort”, slowly building a skill you can see today in every braid, every layer of kajmak and every piece of cheese that leaves her farm.
Fifteen years of patience and work measured not in hours but in seasons, in mornings, and in that special moment when her hands simply know the curd is ready to be braided.
Taste & Rate editors’ tip
Dragica Milovac’s Janj braided cheese and kajmak are available all year round. For orders and information, contact Dragica directly on Facebook. A cheese that still remembers the hands that braided it is a flavour worth seeking out.
