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Cheese from Algeria, the Chaouia area of the east

Bouhezza

Bouhezza is an Algerian raw-milk cheese made and ripened inside a goatskin bag called a djeld or chekoua. Salted lben (soured, churned buttermilk) is poured into the skin and topped up for weeks while whey seeps out through it, with no rennet, starter or heating; raw milk is added near the end. Draining, salting and ripening all happen at once in the bag.

Fully documentedCheese2.3 months – 2.4 monthsAlgerian geographical indication (2019)Family: Skin- and pot-ripened cheese family (Tulum, Çömlek)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThere is no fixed recipe. In one study each bag took 3.6–3.8 L of salted lben to start, then 1.5 L more every three days for ten weeks; the amounts follow the milk available and how fast the bag drains.
LbenRaw milk left to curdle on its own, churned and partly skimmed; low acidity preferred[aissaoui2022][boudalia2020]
Saltabout 1 tablespoon per litre of lben (in one study, 25 g per litre)[boudalia2020]
Whole raw milkAdded near the end to adjust acidity and saltiness[aissaoui2022][boudalia2020]
Goatskin bag (djeld or chekoua)Treated with salt and juniper berries before use[aissaoui2022]
Hot red pepperSome makers season the finished cheese[medjoudj2025]
StarterNone. The cheese is made without any starter or rennet; the lben is a source of many microorganisms, and the skin bag acts as an active microbiological agent that can influence the ripening.

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.3 months – 2.4 months

Start
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What changes: A cleaned goatskin is treated with salt and juniper and conditioned overnight with lben

Step 1 of 7
Prepare the goatskin bag
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
Lactobacillus
Leuconostoc
S. gallolyticus
Lactic acid bacteria

The skin is depilated, washed, treated with salt and juniper berries, turned inside out, tied and rinsed, then left overnight with lben inside and rinsed again.

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

Bouhezza is an Algerian raw-milk cheese made and ripened inside a goatskin bag called a djeld or chekoua. Salted lben (soured, churned buttermilk) is poured into the skin and topped up for weeks while whey seeps out through it, with no rennet, starter or heating; raw milk is added near the end. Draining, salting and ripening all happen at once in the bag. Made in 7 steps over 2.3 months – 2.4 months. The longest step, top up and drain through the skin, takes 2.3 months (Boudalia S et al. 2020. Characterization of t…). Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus (now Lactiplantibacillus) plantarum, regularly present in the cheese, with Leuconostoc species also found and In goat's milk Bouhezza, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris and Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. macedonicus, with several lactobacilli do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2.3 monthsReported[boudalia2020]Top up and drain through the skin
AciditypH 4.7 → 3.99Measured[medjoudj2017b]Ripen in the skin

What makes this one different

The researchers who study Bouhezza say it differs from other cheeses ripened in animal skins. It is begun with salted lben and topped up for weeks, and the permeable skin does the souring, draining, salting and ripening together, with no rennet, starter or heat.

Milk
Raw goat, cow or sheep milk, as lben and as whole milk
Vessel
Goatskin or lambskin bag (djeld, chekoua) that drains, salts and ripens at once
Making and ripening
Made and ripened over 1 to 6 months in all

Related ferments

Safety

Bouhezza is made from raw milk with no heat treatment. In farm cheeses studied, faecal coliforms fell to none as the pH dropped to between 5 and 4 and salt built up, and Salmonella, S. aureus, Listeria and E. coli O157:H7 were not found. The researchers stress clean handling of the skin and milk. Those few samples do not show that it is safe. CDC says raw milk can carry E. coli, Listeria, Brucella and Salmonella and advises choosing pasteurised milk products, and children under 5, adults over 65, pregnant women and people with weak immunity are most at risk.

Hazards the sources name: Faecal coliforms (1–3 log cfu/g during making, falling to none in ripened cheese); Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria and E. coli O157:H7 screened for and not detected in the farm cheeses studied.

History and sources

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

Bouhezza is the only traditional ripened cheese known in Algeria, made in parts of the Chaouia area of the east. Making starts in spring and runs for several months as milk comes in. It became an Algerian geographical indication in 2019.

  1. [aissaoui2022] Aissaoui Zitoun-Hamama O, Benyahia-Krid FA, Saoudi Z, Senoussi A, Boullouf A, Mansouri S, Lazzouni I, Zidoune MN. 2022. Bouhezza goat skin bag cheese, traditional cheesemaking and microbial quality. Algerian Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences 2(3), 9–13paper
  2. [boudalia2020] Boudalia S et al. 2020. Characterization of traditional Algerian cheese "Bouhezza" prepared with raw cow, goat and sheep milks. Food Science and Technology (Campinas) 40(suppl 2)paper
  3. [medjoudj2017b] Medjoudj H, Aouar L, Zidoune MN, Hayaloglu AA. 2017. Proteolysis, microbiology, volatiles and sensory evaluation of Algerian traditional cheese Bouhezza made using goat's raw milk. International Journal of Food Properties 20(sup3), S3246–S3265 (abstract)paper
  4. [medjoudj2025] Medjoudj H, Derouiche M, Grama BS, Zidoune MN, Attia H, Hayaloglu AA. 2025. Lipid profile, texture and sensory properties of Algerian traditional Bouhezza cheese made using raw goat's milk. Journal of Food Science and Technology 62, 1296–1305paper
  5. [senoussi2024] Senoussi A et al. 2024. Microbial screening of animal skin bags used in traditional cheesemaking. International Journal of Food Microbiology 411, 110549 (abstract)paper
  6. [cdc-raw-milk] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Raw Milk (31 January 2025)gov