Cheese Database

Kashkaval vs Mihaliç Peyniri

Kashkaval, field guide plate
Kashkaval, photographed

Kashkaval

Facts

Texture
Semi-hard
Type
Stretched curd
Rind
Natural rind
Country
Bulgaria

Kashkaval is a semi-hard cheese from Bulgaria, and it belongs to a wider Balkan family of stretched-curd wheels. The paste is pale yellow, dense, and smooth, with a natural rind on many wheels. Makers heat and stretch the curd, then press it into rounds, blocks, or tall cylinders. A young piece slices cleanly and melts well. An older piece turns drier and sharper, and it grates over hot food.

Mihaliç Peyniri

Facts

Milk
Sheep
Texture
Hard
Type
Brined
Rind
Natural rind
Country
Turkey
Place
Balıkesir

Mihaliç Peyniri is a hard, salty sheep's milk cheese from Balıkesir in Turkey. Makers age it in brine until the paste is firm and full of small round eyes. The color runs from cream to pale yellow. A thin rind covers a dense interior that still has a little give. It is an aged cheese, not a fresh white cheese, even though brine is part of how it is kept.