| Kashkaval | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Source of milk | Cow,sheep,goat |
| Pasteurised | Traditionally, no |
| Texture | Semi-hard |
 Related media on Commons | |
Kashkaval[a] is a type ofcheese made from the milk ofcows,sheep,goats, or a mixture thereof.[1] InTurkey,Albania,Bulgaria,Kosovo,North Macedonia,Romania andSerbia, the term is often used to refer to all yellow cheeses (or even any cheese other thansirene). In English-language menus in Bulgaria,kashkaval is translated as 'yellow cheese' (whereassirene is usually translated as 'white cheese' or simply 'cheese').
The namekashkaval possibly comes from theItaliancaciocavallo.
Another theory claims that it is related to theAromaniancaș, 'cheese', but thekaval part remains unexplained.[2]
InAlbania,kaçkavall is the most popular type of cheese afterdjathë i bardhë (white cheese). It is considered a traditional Albanian cheese, and is widely used as a side dish. Some traditional restaurants will bring plates of raw or friedkaçkavall for no additional cost before the main dishes finish cooking. All dairy companies in Albania producekaçkavall and mainly use cow's or sheep's milk, but some also use goat's milk, though not as frequently.
InBulgaria,kashkaval vitosha is made from cow's milk,kashkaval balkan from ewe's milk, andkashkaval preslav is made from a mixture of the two.[1]
Kashkaval is used in many breakfast pastries. A common dish withkashkaval iskashkavalka, a little pastry containingkashkaval inside and on top. As in the other Balkan countries,kashkaval substitutes for other cheeses, especially in pizzas. A popular Bulgarian snack isprincesa (Bulgarian:принцеса;lit. 'princess'), toast topped withkashkaval or with ground pork andkashkaval.
InRomania andMoldova,cașcaval is used to refer to a number of types of yellowmedium and semi hard cheeses made of sheep's orcow's milk. The best known varieties ofcașcaval in Romania aredobrogea (from sheep's milk only),penteleu (from mix of sheep's and cow's milk),dalia andrucăr (both from cow's milk only). But the term is often used by extension as a generic name for all semi-hard yellow cheeses such as the SwissEmmental cheese, the DutchGouda and the BritishCheddar, or anything that looks similar tocașcaval.
During the communist regime, because of the food shortages, Romanian housewives developed a technique for a homemade pressed cheese, similar tocașcaval, made out of milk,smântână, butter and eggs.[3] InRomanian cuisine, a lot of dishes are made withcașcaval, such ascașcaval pane ormămăligă.
Kashkaval cheese is very popular inNorth Macedonia. It is mostly made of cow's milk, however both a sheep's milk and a mixed (cow's and sheep's milk) variant are widely available.Kashkaval is also a synonym for any yellow cheese, to the extent that the word "cheese" mostly means white cheese such asfeta, while yellow cheeses such as Gouda or Emmental have the suffixkashkaval attached to them in everyday speech, as simply calling them cheese would be ludicrous, since they're not white cheeses.[citation needed]
Kashkaval cheese is popular in Russia.[citation needed][dubious –discuss] In addition to the Balkan and Italian products, there exists also a Russian version ofkashkaval.[4]
In Serbia,kačkavalj is traditionally a sheep milk hard cheese, and as such a protected brand of the city ofPirot.[5] Other cheeses, made from a mix of cow and sheep milk, are sometimes also branded askačkavalj but they cannot be defined aspirotski (of Pirot).
Kačkavalj is one of the six traditional cheeses of Serbia. The production process (in Serbian) can be seen online,[6] and according to a TV show video clip,[7] it was brought to Pirot in the 1810s with theDalmatian orItaliancheesemakers who settled in then-Ottoman Empire; the cheese was distributed throughout theBalkans (specifically mentioned in the link areSalonica andIstanbul).
In theLevant (Syria,Jordan,Israel,Palestine, andLebanon),qashqawān is widely used as a melting cheese, particularly in pastries.Hungarian-madekashkaval is the most common type found in the region.[8] In Israel, the Hungarian kashkaval is virtually unknown, and the domestically consumed kashkaval is produced locally from cow and sheep milk by both the large dairies (Tnuva under the brand name Gil'ad,Tara Dairy under the brand name Noam) and by boutique dairies, such asGad andJacobs.[9] Imported kashkaval is represented in Israeli grocery stores by theEuro Cheese brand.
Kaşkaval (Ottoman:penir-i kaskaval) was a type of cheese consumed in Ottoman feasts.[10]Evliya Çelebi'sSeyahatnâme mentions that there at his time (17th century) in Istanbul 400 artisans produced different types of cheese: among them, cut cheese,teleme cheese andkaşkaval. In the same book is also mentioned thatkaşkaval cheese was produced inÇatalca.[11]
Media related toKashkaval at Wikimedia Commons
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