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Cheese from Turkey, Bolu

Mengen PeyniriMengen peyniri

Cow or sheep milk is pasteurised at 63 °C or more for 30 minutes, cooled to 37 °C and set with rennet in about an hour. The curd is cut, then heated in its whey to 50–55 °C until it knits, gathered by hand and pressed in cloth-lined moulds for 8–12 hours. It is dry-salted, chilled a day at 4 °C and eaten fresh or fried.

Fully documentedCheese34 h – 38 hGeographical indication (mahreç işareti), TÜRKPATENT reg. no. 1482, registered 6 October 2023Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe GI sets the amounts for 10 litres of milk, which make about 1 kg of cheese. The ministry's inventory of home practice differs on several points. It gives 10 ml of home-made rennet per 10 litres of milk, a setting time of 40-50 minutes, curd heated to 72 °C, 24 hours of pressing and about 1.5 kg of cheese from 10 litres. The page follows the GI.
Cow or sheep milk from the Mengen districtAbout 10 lStrained through muslin; pasteurised under the GI method[turkpatent-gi]
Industrial rennet (şirden mayası)5 ml, diluted in 10 ml drinking water[turkpatent-gi]
Coarse salt, rubbed on dryAbout 40 g[turkpatent-gi]
StarterThe GI method adds only rennet. The ministry's inventory says the home-made cheese is matured by mixed microorganisms from the raw milk and/or the surroundings.

Total time across the recorded steps: 34 h – 38 h

Start
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at least 63 °C

What changes: Strained milk is held at 63 °C or more for 30 minutes

Step 1 of 6
Strain and pasteurise the milk
Time
30 min
Set
Temperature
at least 63 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Raw milk kept in the cold chain is strained through muslin into a pot. The ministry's inventory of home-made Mengen cheese records raw milk, while the GI method pasteurises it.

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

Cow or sheep milk is pasteurised at 63 °C or more for 30 minutes, cooled to 37 °C and set with rennet in about an hour. The curd is cut, then heated in its whey to 50–55 °C until it knits, gathered by hand and pressed in cloth-lined moulds for 8–12 hours. It is dry-salted, chilled a day at 4 °C and eaten fresh or fried. Made in 6 steps over 34 h – 38 h. The longest step, dry-salt and chill, takes 24 h (TÜRKPATENT 2023) and runs at 4 °C (TÜRKPATENT 2023). Lactic acid bacteria does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step24 hSet[turkpatent-gi]Dry-salt and chill
Temperature4 °CSet[turkpatent-gi]Dry-salt and chill

What makes this one different

The cut curd is heated in its own whey to 50–55 °C until it knits, then pressed and only dry-salted, with no brine. The 1916 Bolu yearbook already compared its taste to kaşar.

Shape
Pale yellow cylinder that looks like kaşar
Yield
About 10 l of milk for 1 kg of cheese
Composition
Traditional samples: dry matter 51.4%, fat 19.05%, protein 24%, salt 2.19%, pH 5.72 (means)
Shelf life
The GI registration says it is sold vacuum-packed, with an average shelf life of two months

Related ferments

Safety

The GI method pasteurises the milk at 63 °C or more for 30 minutes, and the salted cheese then stands a day at 4 °C. A study of traditional samples found high counts of coliforms (mean 6.09 log CFU/g), E. coli and S. aureus. Listeria, Salmonella, coagulase-positive S. aureus and E. coli O157 were not detected in those samples.

Hazards the sources name: Escherichia coli (mean 3.79 log CFU/g) and Staphylococcus aureus (mean 3.96 log CFU/g) in traditional samples; Listeria, Salmonella, coagulase-positive S. aureus and E. coli O157 were not detected.

History and sources

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

The oldest records are the provincial yearbooks. The 1916 yearbook of Bolu says it tastes close to kaşar, and the 1921–1925 yearbook calls the cheese of Mengen famous. The Mengen municipality and district governorship applied for the GI in 2018.

  1. [turkpatent-gi] TÜRKPATENT, Coğrafi işaret no. 1482 'Mengen Peyniri', mahreç işareti, registered 06.10.2023 (application C2018/205)spec
  2. [sari2018] Sarı K., Yaman H., Coşkun H., Akoğlu A. 2018, Geleneksel Mengen peynirinin mikrobiyal kalitesi, uçucu bileşen profili, tekstürel ve bazı kimyasal özellikleri, Gıda 43(2):185–196, doi:10.15237/gida.GD17089 (abstract)paper
  3. [tr-inventory] T.C. Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı, Türkiye Geleneksel Peynir Envanteri, 'Mengen Peyniri' (record 1055)gov