Cheese Database

Beyaz peynir vs Tulum

Beyaz peynir

Facts

Texture
Semi-soft
Type
Brined
Rind
No rind
Country
Turkey

Beyaz peynir is the everyday white cheese of Turkey, and the name simply means white cheese. Blocks are salted and kept in brine, so the paste stays moist, bright white, and free of a rind. Traditional production uses unpasteurized milk, and the cheese can range from a fresh mild curd to a firmer, sharper block. It stands with other white brine cheeses rather than with pressed yellow wheels. Shoppers across Turkey meet it in slices and in packed blocks.

Tulum

Facts

Texture
Semi-hard
Type
Pressed
Rind
No rind
Country
Turkey
Place
Erzincan, İzmir, Tunceli, Aydın

Tulum is a traditional cheese from Turkey, made in Erzincan, İzmir, Tunceli, and Aydın. Makers pack the curd into a tulum, a cleaned animal skin, or into a tin that copies that old container. The cheese is salty, crumbly, and sharp after it rests. It is a pantry cheese in many Turkish kitchens, not a soft fresh cheese. Buyers usually find it as a white or cream-colored block with a dry break.