Sirene vs Vlašić
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.
Vlašić
Facts
- Milk
- Mixed milk
- Texture
- Semi-hard
- Type
- Brined
- Rind
- No rind
- Country
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Place
- Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Vlašić is a white brined cheese from Travnik in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The name comes from the mountain pastures above the town, where herders have long made it. Traditional batches use sheep's milk, and some makers blend in cow's milk. Salt and brine shape the cheese more than any thick rind does. A drained piece is firm, pale, and quite salty, with a clean sour milk tang.