Kasseri

Kasseri (Greek Κασέρι; or in Turkish kaşer, kaşar[1]) is a medium-hard pale yellow Greek cheese[1][2] made from unpasteurized sheep milk with very little, if any, goat's milk mixed in. The cheese is found in Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey.[3] An alternative way of making the cheese uses cow-milk.

It is a soft textured, stringy rather than crumbly, chewy, hard-rind cheese and belongs to the pasta filata family of cheeses, like Provolone or Mozzarella.[3] The use of fresh unpasteurized milk is necessary to obtain the correct flavor and texture, and aging of at least four months is required for the development of flavor. Aged kasseri faintly resembles Parmesan or Asiago but is not as creamy.

The name "Kasseri", produced in Greece is a protected designation of origin in the European Union. It is not to be confused with the Turkish province of Kayseri.[2]

Kasseri is consumed as is, in sandwiches, as the main constituent in kasseropita pie, or in "kasseri tiganismeno" or saganaki.

Assyrians use Kasseri cheese to make a traditional Assyrian cheese dish, called "Gupta Tomirta," ܓܘܒܬܐ ܜܘܡܪܬܐ -- meaning "buried cheese" -- that is topped with cumin, and sometimes other seasonings.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Merriam-Webster Unabridged - kasseri
  2. 1 2 EU page on Kasseri PDO Archived 2008-09-22 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. 1 2 "The Art of Making Kasseri", Epikouria Magazine, Fall/Winter 2006
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