Kashkaval vs Parenica
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.
Parenica
Facts
- Milk
- Sheep
- Texture
- Semi-soft
- Type
- Stretched curd
- Rind
- No rind
- Country
- Slovakia
Parenica is a traditional sheep's milk cheese from Slovakia, steamed and stretched, then wound into a pair of spirals that often meet in an S shape. The paste is supple and fibrous, pale on the inside, and yellow to brown on the outside when the piece has been smoked. The taste is mild, a little salty, and marked by sheep's milk, with smoke as a light extra in the usual version. It is a snack and board cheese, and people unwind the ribbon rather than cut a thick wedge.