| Chechil | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Other names | Seehere |
| Region | Shirak (Armenia), Meskheti andAchara (Georgia), Erzurum (Turkey) |
| Source of milk | Cow, sheep, goat (mainly skimmed cow's milk) |
| Pasteurized | Sometimes |
| Texture | Stringy, braided, or bundled |
| Fat content | Up to 10% in dry matter |
| Weight | 3–4 kg per coil |
| Aging time | Fresh or brined |
 Related media on Commons | |
Chechil[a] (alsochechili)[b] is abrinedstring cheese primarily made from skimmedcow's milk, though it can also be produced from mixtures of cow,sheep, andgoat milk.[4] It is apasta filata-type cheese that is pulled into thin strings and typically formed into braids.[5]
Chechil is similar tomozzarella.[1][6] It occupies an intermediate position between rennet- and acid-set cheeses and is sometimes classified as asulguni-type cheese.[7][4] The cheese is popular inArmenia andGeorgia.[8]
The word ჩეჩილი (chechili) inGeorgian directly means "[something] that is unraveled/separated", which derives from the Georgian verb ჩეჩვა (chechva), meaning "to tear apart" or "to unravel or "to separate". The root ჩეჩ- (chech-) conveys the act of pulling apart, unraveling or shredding, while the suffix -ილი (-ili) is a common Georgian nominal suffix that acts as a resultative participle that forms nouns from verbs, often denoting a resulting state or characteristic.[9][10][11] The verbchechva ("to tear/shred") also gives rise to the past participle formsdachechili ("torn") andgachechili ("shredded") when combined with apreverb, whilechechili is the form without a preverb and belongs to the oldest layer of Georgian agricultural terminology.[10][3]
InArmenian, the wordchil literally means "lean" or "stringy",[12][13][14][15] andchechil translates as "that separates into threads" (թել-թել բաժանվող).[12] Other names are also used in Armenian, such as chechil panir,[c]tel panir,[d]husats panir,[e] chil panir,[f] as well as chivil panir.[g]
InRussian, the cheese is known as syr-kosichka.[h][citation needed] InTurkish, the cheese is referred to as çeçil, civil peyniri, saçak, tel, dil, or örgü cheese.[citation needed]
TheBrockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary mentions the cheesechil (ortchil), identifying these names as Armenian terms.[17]The Oxford Companion to Cheese listschechil panir as an Armenian cheese.[5] The cheese is also referred to astwisted string cheese.[5]
According to the 19th-centuryBrockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, the cheesechil (ortchil) was being produced in theAlexandropol district of theErivan Governorate from skimmed milk.[i][17] Milk was left to sour in shallow wooden vats, the cream separated, and a starter culture added.[17] The resulting curd was salted, kneaded in salted water, and formed into large circles or bundles of thin strands, known aschetchil orchechil.[17]
The original chechil was made through direct acidification, without rennet.[5] In the former Soviet countries, chechil production increased with the advent of automatedproduction lines in the late 20th and early 21st centuries,[7] with major producers including theGiaginskiy [ru] and Ruzaevsky dairy factories inRussia.[7]
In Western countries, chechil is often referred to as Armenian cheese or Syrian cheese.[6] Armenian refugees who settled in Syria after the1915 Armenian genocide introduced the cheese there.[6]
.jpg)
The cheese is made from skimmed milk with high acidity.[18][4] To achieve the desired acidity, the milk is left to sour at a temperature of 35–40 °C, or acidic whey, sour milk, ormatzoon (a fermented milk product) is added.[4] Rennet or pepsin is added when the acidity of the milk reaches 45–50 °T for cow's milk and 100–110 °T for sheep's milk.[4] The coagulation temperature is 38–40 °C, and the process lasts 5–10 minutes.[4]
After the curd forms, it is heated to 48–54 °C with continuous stirring.[4] The curd turns into flakes, which stick together and form a long ribbon.[4][18] The cheese mass is gathered, kneaded, stretched, and tied into skeins.[4] The fresh mass is aged in brine with a concentration of 16–19%; sometimes it is mixed with curd or other cheeses and stored in unglazed jugs or in a sheep's skin.[4]
In Armenia, chechil is most common in theShirak region.[19] Armenian varieties includehusats andtel panir, which are made by repeatedly stretching heated cheese curds into thin strands and twisting them into ropes.[18][5][6][19] Traditionally, these cheeses were stored in brine inclay pots, and later in enamel or glass containers.[19]Gyumri chechil withblue mold is another regional variant.[citation needed]
Chechil is used as a main ingredient in the traditional dishPanrkhash.[20]
The tradition of making chechil andbraided cheeses in theShirak region is included in theintangible cultural heritage list of theRepublic of Armenia.[21]
In Georgia, there are varieties such as Meskhuri chechili and Acharuli chechili. In theUnited Kingdom, Meskhuri chechili is aprotected geographical indication by agreement between the UK andGeorgian governments."[22]
In Turkey, civil peyniri is a similar or identical brined string cheese.[23][24][25][26] In 2009,Erzurum civil peyniri was officially registered with theTurkish Patent and Trademark Office and granted ageographical indication.[27][28]
Another variety is the moldy Erzurum civil cheese, locally known as göğermiş peynir, which also been registered and received a geographical indication from the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.[citation needed]
The cheeses are twisted into coils weighing 3–4 kg.[4] Before consumption, due to their high salt content and firm texture, chechil is soaked in warm or cold water.[18]
Research by M. A. Volkova and Z. K. Dilanyan shows that themicroflora of chechil cheese reaches its peak within the first day.[4] The mainmicroorganisms areLactococcus lactis (47%) andLactobacillus casei (53%).[4] The development oflactic acid bacteria occurs faster than in other cheeses, and their dominance persists until the end of ripening.[4] One gram of chechil contains approximately 580,000 lactic acid bacteria according to the MPA method and about 5 million according to the maximumdilution method.[4]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Media related toChechil at Wikimedia Commons| Beverages |
|
|---|---|
| Breads | |
| Appetizers and salads | |
| Cheeses | |
| Soups | |
| Dishes |
|
| Grilled meats | |
| Desserts |
|
| Frequent ingredients | |
| Unique instruments | |
| Related cuisines | |
