Description of Challenge
Traditional food preservation and cultural conservation.Solution
Tulum cheese (Turkish: tulum peyniri) is a traditional Turkish goat’s milk cheese ripened in a goatskin casing, called Tulum in Turkish. As a rich source for protein, calcium, fat and phosphorus, Tulum cheese is an important food for healthy nutrition, with its unique flavour provided by the natural microflora created in the goatskin during ripening.
Tulum cheese is made by heating high-fat goat’s milk to a temperature of 30 °C (86 °F) and subsequently souring it through the addition of a starter culture. The milk then starts to coagulate. After about an hour, the milk is entirely converted into curds and whey.
The curd is drained and repeatedly cut by special knives into smaller cubes allowing the whey to drain. The temperature is kept constant throughout this process. The curds are collected in hemp cheesecloth, which have been cleaned, cooled and wetted before use. The bundles of curd are then hung for eight hours to allow them to drain and cure. The curds in the cheesecloth are then pressed into a form with a wooden cover. A weight is placed on the cover for several hours allowing more whey to be expressed. The curd is subsequently cut in pieces the size of bar of soap and immersed in brine. The pieces are then arranged on a counter, and cured for 24 hours.
The next day, the curds are crushed by hand, kneaded with raw goat’s milk and then tightly stuffed into a goatskin casing, which has been cleaned and salted. The curd filling is topped with salt, and the casing’s opening is fastened with a cord. The goatskin casing is stored in a cool place such as a cave or cellar at temperatures of 10 to 12 °C (50 to 54 °F) for about six months to ripen. The casing may be perforated at its sides to allow any residual whey to drain.
