Lighvan cheese vs Sirene
Lighvan cheese
Facts
- Milk
- Sheep
- Texture
- Semi-soft
- Type
- Brined
- Rind
- No rind
- Country
- Iran
- Place
- Liqvan
Lighvan is a brined sheep's milk cheese from Liqvan in Iran. The curds are white, salty, and tangy, with a texture that can be crumbly or slightly supple. Makers drain the cheese and then hold it in brine, which is the step that defines the taste. There is no bloomy rind and no long dry aging on a shelf. Iranians know it best as a breakfast cheese with bread.
Sirene
Facts
- Texture
- Semi-hard
- Type
- Brined
- Rind
- No rind
- Country
- Bulgaria
Sirene is the white brined cheese of Bulgaria, sold in blocks that sit in salty liquid. The paste is white and slightly grainy, and it breaks into moist crumbs rather than bending like a soft bloomy cheese. Salt is part of the identity, because the cheese finishes in brine. In Bulgaria the name means this everyday white cheese, not one branded wheel. A block can taste fresh and tangy, or firmer and saltier, depending on its time in the brine.