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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Turkey, Sakarya province

Abaza peyniri (Sakarya Abhaz peyniri)Abaza peyniri

Abaza cheese is a fibrous, amber-yellow cheese of the Abkhaz people of Sakarya, between kaşar and string cheese in character and often braided. Boiled cow milk is soured with a spoon of yogurt and set with calf rennet, and the curd is scalded twice in its own whey, the second time at 48 °C until it stretches. The pieces are dry-salted, wrapped in greaseproof paper and ripened in jars for two months in the cold. Made in 8 steps over 2 months. The longest step, wrap and ripen in jars, takes 2 months (Türk Patent ve Marka Kurumu 2021) and runs at 3–6 °C (Türk Patent ve Marka Kurumu 2021). Lactic bacteria of the yogurt added as starter does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2 monthsSet[abaza-gi2021]Wrap and ripen in jars
Temperature3–6 °CSet[abaza-gi2021]Wrap and ripen in jars
Fully documentedCheese2 monthsGeographical indication of origin (mahreç işareti), Turkish Patent and Trademark Office no. 746 (2021)Family: Pasta filata (stretched-curd) cheese familyMore stretched-curd cheesesMore from Turkey

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe registration gives a home-scale recipe for 5 litres of milk.
5 lCow milk · Boiled for 30 minutes, then cooled[abaza-gi2021]
50 gYogurt · Added at 40 °C as the starter[abaza-gi2021]
10–12 gNatural calf rennet (şirden mayası)[abaza-gi2021]
Coarse salt · Rubbed on dry[abaza-gi2021]
1–3 %Nigella seed or thyme · Optional, mixed into the curd[abaza-gi2021]
Starteryogurt (50 g per 5 l of milk), with natural calf rennet

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months

Start
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40 °C

What changes: The milk is boiled for half an hour and cooled to 40 °C

Step 1 of 8
Boil and cool the milk
Time
30 min
Set
Temperature
40 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Unlike kaşar, it is soured with home yogurt, scalded twice in its own whey, the second time after pressing and cutting, and then ripened wrapped in paper in jars instead of on shelves.

Milk
Whole cow milk, boiled
Ripening
2 months at 3–6 °C
Composition
Dry matter 60–65 %; fat 20–25 %; protein 23–27 %
Shape
Usually braided pieces

Related ferments

Variants

  • With nigella or thyme1–3 % nigella seed or thyme mixed into the broken curd.

Safety

The milk is boiled for 30 minutes before the yogurt goes in, and the finished cheese is kept in the fridge.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The registration says the Abkhaz people settled in Sakarya about 700 years ago and that their culture shaped the cheese. The name was registered as a Turkish geographical indication in 2021 on the application of the Sakarya Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

  1. [abaza-gi2021] Türk Patent ve Marka Kurumu, Coğrafi işaret no. 746 (mahreç işareti), 'Sakarya Abhaz (Abaza) Peyniri', registered 03.05.2021, applicant Sakarya Ticaret ve Sanayi Odasıspec
  2. [kure2026] Ataç B. 2026, 'Sakarya Abhaz (Abaza) Peyniri', Küre Ansiklopedi (citing the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry traditional cheese inventory)web