{"id":3871,"date":"2024-06-27T03:01:38","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T03:01:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/kristin-vukovic-talks-cheese-croatia-her-debut-novel-the-cheesemakers-daughter\/"},"modified":"2024-06-27T03:01:38","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T03:01:38","slug":"kristin-vukovic-talks-cheese-croatia-her-debut-novel-the-cheesemakers-daughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/kristin-vukovic-talks-cheese-croatia-her-debut-novel-the-cheesemakers-daughter\/","title":{"rendered":"Kristin Vukovi\u0107 Talks Cheese, Croatia & Her Debut Novel: The Cheesemaker’s Daughter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kristin Vukovic\u0301 photo credit Sylvie Rosokoff<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kristin Vukovi\u0107<\/a> is the author of the forthcoming <\/em>The Cheesemaker’s Daughter<\/em><\/a> (<\/em>August 6, 2024, Regalo Press), inspired by her travels to the island of Pag in Croatia\u2014and of course, Pag cheese (Pa\u0161ki sir). <\/em>I was lucky enough to meet Vukovi\u0107 in a food writing workshop I taught a few years ago. She shared some early pages of her debut novel, and her work blew me away. Her writing was stunning, her characters felt real, and as a cheese lover, it felt like she deeply understood what made cheese so rich with meaning.<\/p>\n

I sat down with Vukovi\u0107 to talk about cheese, family, books, and what makes her tick.<\/p>\n

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How does your identity as an American with Croatian heritage impact your work as a writer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My obsession with Croatia is no secret! Growing up with my grandmother\u2019s cooking and hearing Croatian spoken in their home in Dayton, Ohio, I was determined to learn more about this place they were from. I\u2019ve now been to Croatia more than two dozen times! I think that wanting to know more about where our family came from has fueled me as a writer and contributed to exploring the themes of identity, belonging, and home that run through my debut novel.<\/p>\n

Tell me about the intersection of cheese and literature\u2014how do they relate to each other?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a line in my novel, \u201cCheesemaking always leaves fingerprints.\u201d Ultimately, cheesemakers are the authors of their own cheese, and you can taste their unique signature. I think cheesemaking is similar to writing in that you\u2019re always feeling your way through and needing to make adjustments along the way. Cheesemakers take into account time and temperature of ripening and other factors that can change, and writers discover aspects of their characters as they develop and events that can alter the narrative. Cheesemaking is such an ancient practice, and there\u2019s something so elemental about it. On Pag, it\u2019s a way of life for many people, and I love how ingrained it is in the culture of the island. There\u2019s another line from the novel, \u201cThe best milk comes from seasons of adverse conditions.\u201d When sheep struggle to find enough herbs to eat, their milk is more flavorful and intense. Sometimes challenges bring out the best in sheep\u2014and in people. The best writing comes from digging deep, and often from challenging experiences.<\/p>\n

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Do you have any favorite books about cheese?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I was in the very early stages of contemplating a book set on Croatia\u2019s island of Pag, I read The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World\u2019s Greatest Piece of Cheese<\/em> by Michael Paterniti. I was blown away. He wrote so lyrically about the picturesque village of Guzm\u00e1n in Spain, and about a betrayal that created two rival cheesemakers. A betrayal and two rival cheesemakers also feature in my novel, and at the time his book was published, I thought, Oh no, someone has already done what I\u2019m trying to do!<\/em> But what I ended up doing is quite different, and my story is fictional. His book blends memoir, travelogue and history, and I was inspired by his portrayal of small-town life in a Spanish village\u2014and of course, his pursuit of a cheese rumored to possess mystical qualities.<\/p>\n

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Growing up in Minnesota, tell me about your early cheese experiences.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our Wisconsin neighbors are best known for their cheese-loving ways\u2014my parents used to buy delicious cheese curds from Wisconsin, which wasn\u2019t far from our home in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. My early cheese experiences were not very sophisticated: I loved Kraft macaroni and cheese, which I still love as a comfort food\u2014and when my mom made macaroni and cheese from scratch one time for a playdate, my friend and I wanted the boxed version! However, my friends loved the molded green cream cheese frog candies for my frog-themed birthday party at a nature center\u2014they were a hit. I also remember ordering French onion soup at restaurants and eating only the melted cheese and bread off the top, much to my parents\u2019 chagrin. <\/p>\n

When did you first discover\u00a0Croatian cheese?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I discovered Croatian cheese in 2011 while on Pag reporting on a cheese festival for the now-defunct newspaper,\u00a0The Croatian Chronicle<\/em>. Everyone ended up dancing on the tables at the end of the night, and I thought I should do cheese reporting more often! I quickly got sucked in and became obsessed with Pag Island and its cheese.<\/p>\n

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When did you know you wanted to write books?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since I was little, I was always writing and putting on shows with my cousins and friends\u2014I wrote the script, and then we would act it out. I eventually ended up studying acting in Los Angeles, and interned for a script management company. When I figured out I wanted to be a writer (and that it was an actual job) of course I wanted to write a book. I have a Masters of Fine Arts in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and submitted personal essays for my thesis, since I didn\u2019t have a strong enough idea for a nonfiction book at the time. And then I did travel writing, where I visited many unique places, met interesting people and heard intriguing stories. But I felt limited by diminishing word counts for travel articles, and I wanted to write something longer and also use my imagination. Hence my foray into fiction!<\/p>\n

Tell me about the cheese research you did to write The Cheesemaker’s Daughter<\/em>. How did you go about learning about the cheese world? Did anything surprise you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The characters in my novel are so closely tied to the land: Their sheep give them milk, and the sea gives them salt, from which they make cheese.\u00a0To learn more about Pag cheese, I went out with shepherds early in the morning, and visited some small producers as well as the largest cheese factories on the island: Pa\u0161ka Sirana<\/a>, Sirana Gligora<\/a>, and Sirana MiH<\/a>. Over the years, I went on to write more articles about Pag cheese, for publications including BBC Travel<\/a>, Culture<\/a> and Roads & Kingdoms<\/a> where I learned more about cheesemaking on the island and the fascinating history of how Pag got divided centuries ago when a king split the island between two bishops. I was surprised to discover how the same sheep\u2019s milk from the same island can produce such different cheeses depending on the producer and methods, especially when it comes to cheese made from unpasteurized milk.<\/p>\n

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Pas\u030cki Sir photo courtesy of Forever Cheese<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What cheese is in your fridge right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pag cheese! I brought it back in my suitcase from a recent trip to Croatia\u2014and we had some leftovers after a media preview event for The Cheesemaker’s Daughter<\/em> at Murray\u2019s Cheese in New York City. (I hope you were able to take some home with you, too, Hannah!) I usually have a triple cream, Bijou (goat cheese) from Vermont Creamery<\/a> and an aged Manchego on hand for last-minute gatherings. And my five-year-old daughter loves freshly grated Pecorino Romano on her pasta! Read <\/em>more about Pecorino cheeses<\/em><\/a>.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

What are you working on these days?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been writing some \u201coff-the-book\u201d essays and travel articles related to The Cheesemaker’s Daughter<\/em> (watch out for a piece about my cheese adventures in Croatia on Fodor\u2019s soon, which explores how Pag cheese is used creatively in dishes and desserts). I\u2019m excited to dive into some generative writing for a new novel idea I\u2019ve been mulling around in my head, and this summer, I hope to create some time for my mind to unspool. But I\u2019m not sure how possible that will be in the weeks leading up to my August publication date!<\/p>\n

What do you most want people to take away from reading The Cheesemaker’s Daughter<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I hope that anyone who has ever felt displaced\u2014whether physically or emotionally\u2014will relate to this novel. And I hope that this novel inspires people to find new ways of reconciliation, both within and without.<\/p>\n

What is the best part about The Cheesemaker’s Daughter<\/em> coming out into the<\/strong> world, and what is the scariest\/most challenging part?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unlike Italy or France, there aren\u2019t many books published in the US that are set in Croatia. I\u2019m so excited to share this novel, which has scenes in Croatia\u2014including Pag, Zadar, and Motovun\u2014and Croatian phrases sprinkled throughout. I think these days it\u2019s challenging to get a novel noticed with so many things competing for our attention, and we\u2019re becoming used to getting much of our information in succinct summaries. Changes in the publishing industry have shifted more responsibility for promotion to authors.\u00a0And it\u2019s scary to have any work published! I think I broke a sweat when I pressed \u201cSend\u201d on my final proofs.<\/p>\n

More: Love cheese novels? Read our interview with Mary Wimmer<\/a>, author of The Art of the Break<\/em>, inspired by cheesemaking in Wisconsin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Kristin Vukovic\u0301 photo credit Sylvie Rosokoff Kristin Vukovi\u0107 is the author of the forthcoming The Cheesemaker’s Daughter (August 6, 2024, Regalo Press), inspired by her travels to the island of Pag in Croatia\u2014and of course, Pag cheese (Pa\u0161ki sir). I was lucky enough to meet Vukovi\u0107 in a food writing workshop I taught a few … Okumaya devam et “Kristin Vukovi\u0107 Talks Cheese, Croatia & Her Debut Novel: The Cheesemaker’s Daughter”<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1271,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[395],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-milk-and-diary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3871"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3871\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}