| Tzfat Cheese | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country of origin | Israel |
| Region | Upper Galilee |
| Town | Safed (Tzfat) |
| Source of milk | Sheep (original version), Cow, Goat, Water Buffalo |
| Texture | Semi-hard fresh and hard aged |
| Aging time | 3 to 12 months |
Tzfatit, or Tzfat cheese (Hebrew : גבינה צפתית, gvina tsfattit) is a semi-hard salty cheese produced in Israel, originally from sheep's milk. It was first produced in Safed (Tzfat in Hebrew) in 1840 and is still produced there by descendants of the original cheese makers. [1]
The cheese began to be produced in 1818 at HaMeiri Dairy, established in the home of Meir Arzoni (later HaMeiri), who immigrated from Persia. [2] Gvina sfattit is a mild curd cheese molded in a basket that gives the cheese distinctive circular striations. [3] The cheese has an elastic texture and low fat content. The milk is pasteurized at a low 72 °C (162 °F), which preserves the food proteins. Trimming is based largely on the action of enzymes contained in a special ferment and on calcium chloride rather than on the action of lactic acid. The fermentation is quick, about an hour. After the separation of most of the whey, the cheese is stored for several hours in straw or plastic baskets to drain the remaining whey and to form its round shape. For the remainder of the draining time, the cheese is inverted several times to help the draining and to form the basket's pattern on all sides.
Fresh Tzfatit is used in salads and sandwiches. The salted and aged variety can be grated for use in baking or cooking.
Water Buffalo Tzfatit is usually flavored with nigella seeds.
Mozzarella is a semi-soft non-aged cheese prepared by the pasta filata ('stretched-curd') method with origins from southern Italy.
Cottage cheese is a curdled milk product with a mild flavour and a creamy, heterogeneous, soupy texture, made from skimmed milk. An essential step in the manufacturing process distinguishing cottage cheese from other fresh cheeses is the addition of a "dressing" to the curd grains, usually cream, which is mainly responsible for the taste of the product. Cottage cheese is not aged.
Curd is obtained by coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet, a culture, or any edible acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar, and then allowing it to coagulate. The increased acidity causes the milk proteins (casein) to tangle into solid masses, or curds. Milk that has been left to sour will also naturally produce curds, and sour milk cheeses are produced this way.
Feta is a Greek brined white cheese made from sheep's milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat's milk. It is soft, with small or no holes, a compact touch, few cuts, and no skin. Crumbly with a slightly grainy texture, it is formed into large blocks and aged in brine. Its flavor is tangy and salty, ranging from mild to sharp. Feta is used as a table cheese, in salads such as Greek salad, and in pastries, notably the phyllo-based Greek dishes spanakopita "spinach pie" and tyropita "cheese pie". It is often served with olive oil or olives, and sprinkled with aromatic herbs such as oregano. It can also be served cooked, as part of a sandwich, in omelettes, and many other dishes.
Mizithra or myzithra is a Greek whey cheese or mixed milk-whey cheese from sheep or goats, or both. It is sold both as a fresh cheese, similar to Italian ricotta, and as a salt-dried grating cheese, similar to Italian ricotta salata. The ratio of milk to whey usually is 7 to 3.
Goat cheese, goat's cheese or chèvre is cheese made from goat's milk. Goats were among the first animals to be domesticated for producing food. Goat cheese is made around the world with a variety of recipes, giving many different styles of cheeses, from fresh and soft to aged and hard.
Ricotta is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the casein has been used to make cheese, notably albumin and globulin.
Cheesemaking is the craft of making cheese. The production of cheese, like many other food preservation processes, allows the nutritional and economic value of a food material, in this case milk, to be preserved in concentrated form. Cheesemaking allows the production of the cheese with diverse flavors and consistencies.
Anthotyros is a traditional fresh cheese. There are dry Anthotyros and fresh Anthotyros. Dry Anthotyros is a matured cheese similar to Mizithra. Anthotyros is made with milk and whey from sheep or goats, sometimes in combination. The ratio of milk to whey usually is 9-to-1. It is commonly a truncated cone, but when shipped in containers may be crumbled, as it is removed. It may be unpasteurized, where law allows.
Urda Albanian: urdha, indefinite form: urdhë; Bulgarian: урда, извара, romanized: urda, izvara; Macedonian: урда, изварка, romanized: urda, izvarka; Romanian: Urdă; Serbian: вурда / vurda; Ukrainian: вурда, romanized: vurda; Hungarian: orda, zsendice) is a sort of whey cheese commonly produced in Southeast Europe, and Hungary.
Brocciu is a Corsican cheese produced from a combination of milk and whey, giving it some of the characteristics of whey cheese. It is produced from ewe's milk. It is notable as a substitute for lactose-rich Italian Ricotta, as brocciu contains less lactose.
White cheese includes a wide variety of cheese types discovered in different regions, sharing the sole common characteristic of their white hue. The specific type of white cheese can vary significantly depending on the geographical location.
Scamorza is a southern Italian cow's milk cheese. It can also be made from other milks, but that is less common. It is a pasta filata ('stretched-curd') cheese, in which the fresh curd matures in its own whey for several hours to allow acidity to develop through the conversion of lactose to lactic acid. Artisanal cheese makers generally form the cheese into a round shape, and then tie a string around the mass one third of the distance from the top, and hang it to dry. The resulting shape is pear-like. This is sometimes referred to as "strangling" the cheese. The cheese is usually white unless smoked. When smoked, the color is almond with a lighter interior.
Strained yogurt, Greek yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt or kerned yogurt is yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than normal unstrained yogurt, while still preserving the distinctive sour taste of yogurt. Like many types, strained yogurt is often made from milk enriched by boiling off some water content, or by adding extra butterfat and powdered milk. In Europe and North America, it is often made from low-fat or fat-free cow's milk. In Iceland, a similar product named skyr is made.
Caprino is an Italian cheese traditionally made from whole or skimmed goat's milk. The name of the cheese derives from the Italian word for goat, capra. With modern methods of production, the cheese is made from cow's milk as well or a combination of both cow's and goat's milks. The two major styles of caprino are fresco ("fresh") and stagionato ("aged").
Abbaye de Tamié is a soft cheese made from unpasteurised cow's milk, similar in style to Reblochon and produced exclusively by the monks of Tamié Abbey, near to Albertville in the Savoie département, in the French Alps.
Tulum cheese is a traditional Turkish goat's milk cheese ripened in a goatskin casing, called tulum in Turkish.
Lighvan is a sour, hole filled brined curd cheese traditionally made from sheep's milk in Liqvan, a village in East Azerbaijan, Iran.
Gvina levana, which means "white cheese" in Hebrew, also known as Israeli white cheese, is a soft, creamy, and tangy cheese that is popular in Israel. The cheese is made from cow's milk and has a crumbly texture and a slightly sour taste. It is used in a variety of dishes in Israeli cuisine and is an important part of Israeli culture.
