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Cheese from Turkey, Sakarya province

Abaza peyniri (Sakarya Abhaz peyniri)Abaza peyniri

Abaza cheese is a fibrous, amber-yellow cheese of the Abkhaz people of Sakarya, between kaşar and string cheese in character and often braided. Boiled cow milk is soured with 50 g of yogurt per 5 l and set with natural rennet, and the curd is scalded twice in its own whey, the second time at 48 °C until it stretches. The pieces are dry-salted, wrapped in greaseproof paper and ripened in jars for two months in the cold.

Fully documentedCheese2 monthsGeographical indication of origin (mahreç işareti), Turkish Patent and Trademark Office no. 746 (2021)Family: Pasta filata (stretched-curd) cheese family

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe registration gives a home-scale recipe for 5 litres of milk.
Cow milk5 lBoiled for 30 minutes, then cooled (registration, which says only "milk"); the Ministry inventory entry names cow milk[abaza-gi2021][tarim-envanter]
Yogurt50 gAdded at 40 °C as the starter[abaza-gi2021]
Natural rennet (şirden mayası)10–12 g[abaza-gi2021]
Coarse saltRubbed on dry[abaza-gi2021]
Nigella seed or thyme1–3 %Optional, mixed into the curd[abaza-gi2021]
Starteryogurt (50 g per 5 l of milk), with natural rennet

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
40 °C

What changes: The milk is boiled for half an hour and cooled to 40 °C

Step 1 of 8
Boil and cool the milk
Time
30 min
Set
Temperature
40 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Abaza cheese is a fibrous, amber-yellow cheese of the Abkhaz people of Sakarya, between kaşar and string cheese in character and often braided. Boiled cow milk is soured with 50 g of yogurt per 5 l and set with natural rennet, and the curd is scalded twice in its own whey, the second time at 48 °C until it stretches. The pieces are dry-salted, wrapped in greaseproof paper and ripened in jars for two months in the cold. Made in 8 steps over 2 months. The longest step, wrap and ripen in jars, takes 2 months (Türk Patent ve Marka Kurumu 2021) and runs at 3–6 °C (Türk Patent ve Marka Kurumu 2021).

Key numbers
Main step2 monthsSet[abaza-gi2021]Wrap and ripen in jars
Temperature3–6 °CSet[abaza-gi2021]Wrap and ripen in jars

What makes this one different

It is soured with yogurt, scalded twice in whey, the second time after pressing and cutting, and then ripened wrapped in greaseproof paper in closed jars.

Milk
Whole cow milk, boiled
Ripening
2 months at 3–6 °C
Composition
Dry matter 60–65 %; fat 20–25 %; protein 23–27 %
Shape
Usually braided pieces

Related ferments

Variants

  • With nigella or thyme1–3 % nigella seed or thyme mixed into the broken curd.
  • Fresh form in the Ministry inventoryThe inventory entry sets whole milk at 35 °C with rennet for about 1 hour, slices the curd, kneads it in boiling water, braids it, rubs on rock salt and sells it fresh after at least 1 day at room temperature.

Safety

The milk is boiled for 30 minutes before the yogurt goes in, and the finished cheese is kept in the fridge.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The registration says the Abkhaz people settled in Sakarya about 700 years ago and that their culture shaped the cheese. The Sakarya Chamber of Commerce and Industry applied for the name on 2 July 2020, and it was registered as a Turkish geographical indication on 3 May 2021; the press reported the award on 29 April 2021.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [abaza-gi2021] Türk Patent ve Marka Kurumu, Coğrafi işaret no. 746 (mahreç işareti), 'Sakarya Abhaz (Abaza) Peyniri', registered 03.05.2021, applicant Sakarya Ticaret ve Sanayi Odasıspec
  2. [tarim-envanter] T.C. Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı, Türkiye Geleneksel Peynir Envanteri, 'Sakarya Abhaz (Abaza) Peyniri' (entry 1036)gov
  3. [trt2021] TRT Haber (Anadolu Ajansı), 29 April 2021, Sakarya'nın kabak tatlısı ve Abhaz peyniri tescillendiweb