Ossetian cheese

Ossetian cheese belongs to the national and favorite dishes of the peoples of the Central Caucasus region. Ossetians call their cheeses - tsykht or cicht. Once upon a time, a single state of Ossetia was located in these territories. In modern times, the south of historically Ossetian territories is called the Republic of South Ossetia, and the north is called the Republic of North Ossetia.

Once one country of Ossetia broke up into several independent states, but the history, culture and traditions of the people remained the same. Ossetian cheese is considered an integral attribute of Ossetian cuisine. In ancient times, Ossetians began to make their own exceptionally tasty, nutritious and incredibly healthy homemade cheese.

Ossetian cheese is still made from goat, sheep or cow's milk. For the starter of Ossetian cheese, whey is used, which is called sulu or syls. Interestingly, Sulu is the old Ossetian name for the famous Suluguni cheese or Sylyjyn. The word sylu or sulu from Ossetian literally translates as "made of serum. "

According to the old Ossetian technology, homemade cheese was produced from fresh milk, which was preheated but not brought to a boil, and then whey was kneaded into it. Moreover, whey for Ossetian cheese should be necessarily infused with animal enzymes. For this, Ossetians use the stomachs of a cow or sichuga, which are previously cleaned and salted.

After sichuga is added to the milk, the resulting mixture must be defended for 40-60 minutes in a necessarily dark place. The focus of proper preparation of Ossetian cheese lies in constant control of the milk folding process. It must be remembered that if the milk was overexposed, Ossetian cheese will not receive its excellent taste, aroma or other consumer qualities.

When the milk with whey is set aside and the coagulation process is completed, the resulting mass is "squeezed" to get rid of excessive whey and put into cheese molds for ripening. After a while, Ossetian cheese is ready for consumption.

Ossetian cheese at all times remained the main dish for the highlanders. The ancient Scythian-Alanian ancestors of Ossetians began to produce Ossetian cheese. Since then, there is little in the national technology of cheese making that has changed. And why change something, if for many centuries it turns out a tasty and healthy product. Ossetian cheese is distinguished by its taste and appearance.

A slightly brackish taste and curd consistency are the main signs of Ossetian cheese. An exceptional feature and importance of Ossetian cheese for mountain peoples lies in its storage time. Ossetian cheese can retain its taste and consumer qualities for a long time, even if it is not stored in the refrigerator. The traditions of Ossetian cheesemakers also penetrated into other national culinary traditions. For example, Ossetian-like cheeses are made in the Caucasus, Europe and the Balkans.