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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Algeria, the Chaouia area of the east

Bouhezza

Bouhezza is an Algerian raw-milk cheese made and ripened inside a goatskin bag called a djeld or chekoua. Salted lben (soured, churned buttermilk) is poured into the skin and topped up for weeks while whey seeps out through it, with no rennet, starter or heating; raw milk is added near the end. Draining, salting and ripening all happen at once in the bag. Made in 7 steps over 3.3 months – 8.4 months. The longest step, ripen in the skin, takes 30 days – 6 months (Aissaoui Zitoun-Hamama O 2022). Lactococcus lactis, Lactobacillus (now Lactiplantibacillus) plantarum and Leuconostoc species, the regular native lactic bacteria of the cheese and In goat's milk Bouhezza, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris and Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. macedonicus, with several lactobacilli do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step30 days – 6 monthsReported[aissaoui2022]Ripen in the skin
Temperature4–8 °CReported[boudalia2020]Season and store
AciditypH 4.7 → 3.99Measured[medjoudj2017b]Ripen in the skin

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThere is no fixed recipe. In one study each bag took 3.6–3.8 L of salted lben to start, then 1.5 L more every three days for ten weeks; the amounts follow the milk available and how fast the bag drains.
Lben · Raw milk left to curdle on its own, churned and partly skimmed; low acidity preferred[aissaoui2022][boudalia2020]
about 1 tablespoon per litre of lben (in one study, 25 g per litre)Salt[boudalia2020]
Whole raw milk · Added near the end to adjust acidity and saltiness[aissaoui2022][boudalia2020]
Goatskin bag (djeld or chekoua) · Treated with salt and juniper berries before use[aissaoui2022]
Hot red pepper · Some makers season the finished cheese[medjoudj2025]
Starternone; the lben and the skin's own biofilm bring the microbes

Total time across the recorded steps: 3.3 months – 8.4 months

Start
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What changes: A cleaned goatskin is treated with salt and juniper and conditioned overnight with lben

Step 1 of 7
Prepare the goatskin bag
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
Lactobacillus now
Leuconostoc
Lactic acid bacteria

The skin is depilated, washed, treated with salt and juniper berries, turned inside out, tied and rinsed, then left overnight with lben inside and rinsed again.

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

The researchers who study Bouhezza set it apart from other skin-ripened cheeses because it is built up in the bag from salted lben, topped up for weeks. The permeable skin does the souring, draining, salting and ripening together, with no rennet, starter or heat.

Milk
Raw goat, cow or sheep milk, as lben and as whole milk
Vessel
Goatskin or lambskin bag (djeld, chekoua) that drains, salts and ripens at once
Ripening
Made and ripened over 1 to 6 months

Related ferments

Safety

Bouhezza is made from raw milk with no heat treatment. In farm cheeses studied, faecal coliforms fell to none as the pH dropped to between 5 and 4 and salt built up, and Salmonella, S. aureus, Listeria and E. coli O157:H7 were not found. The researchers stress clean handling of the skin and milk.

Hazards the sources name: Faecal coliforms (1–3 log cfu/g during making, falling to none in ripened cheese); Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria and E. coli O157:H7 screened for and not detected in the farm cheeses studied.

History and sources

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

Bouhezza is the only traditional ripened cheese known in Algeria, made in parts of the Chaouia area of the east. Making starts in spring and runs for several months as milk comes in. It became an Algerian geographical indication in 2019.

  1. [aissaoui2022] Aissaoui Zitoun-Hamama O, Benyahia-Krid FA, Saoudi Z, Senoussi A, Boullouf A, Mansouri S, Lazzouni I, Zidoune MN. 2022. Bouhezza goat skin bag cheese, traditional cheesemaking and microbial quality. Algerian Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences 2(3), 9–13paper
  2. [boudalia2020] Boudalia S et al. 2020. Characterization of traditional Algerian cheese "Bouhezza" prepared with raw cow, goat and sheep milks. Food Science and Technology (Campinas) 40(suppl 2)paper
  3. [medjoudj2017b] Medjoudj H, Aouar L, Zidoune MN, Hayaloglu AA. 2017. Proteolysis, microbiology, volatiles and sensory evaluation of Algerian traditional cheese Bouhezza made using goat's raw milk. International Journal of Food Properties 20(sup3), S3246–S3265 (abstract)paper
  4. [medjoudj2025] Medjoudj H, Derouiche M, Grama BS, Zidoune MN, Attia H, Hayaloglu AA. 2025. Lipid profile, texture and sensory properties of Algerian traditional Bouhezza cheese made using raw goat's milk. Journal of Food Science and Technology 62, 1296–1305paper
  5. [senoussi2024] Senoussi A et al. 2024. Microbial screening of animal skin bags used in traditional cheesemaking. International Journal of Food Microbiology 411, 110549 (abstract)paper