Bandel vs Chhena
Bandel
Facts
- Milk
- Cow
- Texture
- Semi-soft
- Type
- Fresh
- Rind
- No rind
- Country
- India
Bandel is a fresh cow's milk cheese from India. The name comes from a former Portuguese settlement in the east of the country, where this style of cheese took shape. Milk is curdled, drained, and salted heavily, then often smoked. The usual piece is a small thick disc, not a large aged wheel. Plain cheese is pale, and the smoked kind is brown and much more aromatic on the plate.
Chhena
Facts
- Texture
- Fresh
- Type
- Fresh
- Rind
- No rind
- Country
- Bangladesh
Chhena is a fresh acid-set curd from Bangladesh, soft and moist, with no rind and no aging. Cooks make it by souring heated milk with a food acid, then draining the whey until the curds hold together but stay crumbly. The result is kneaded for sweets more often than it is sliced for a board. It is a kitchen ingredient, not a wheel with a cellar and a famous name. The same style of curd is also central to sweet making in neighboring parts of India.