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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Turkey

Çökelekçökelek

Set yogurt, often yogurt that has become too sour to eat, is stirred and heated until the curd separates, then drained in a cloth bag and lightly salted. The curd is made by heat and the acid the yogurt bacteria already made, not by rennet. It is eaten fresh or dried, sometimes with herbs. Made in 5 steps over 45 days. The longest step, keep cold, takes 45 days (Simsek B 2010) and runs at 4 °C (Simsek B 2010). Salt is 1 % (Simsek B 2010). Yogurt starter bacteria, or Lactobacillus helveticus in a trial and Lactobacilli (3.60–4.33 log cfu/g) and lactococci (2.50–3.03 log cfu/g) after 45 days cold do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step45 daysReported[simsek2010]Keep cold
Temperature4 °CReported[simsek2010]Keep cold
Salt1 %Reported[simsek2010]Salt and mix
AciditypH 3.9–4.2Measured[simsek2010]Keep cold

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe amounts are from one university-dairy make; household çökelek has no fixed recipe. Yields in that trial were 16.59–19.88 % of the milk.
Cow milk · Standardised to 1.5 % fat in one lab make[simsek2010]
3 % (w/w)Yogurt starter (or Lactobacillus helveticus) · Lab make; at home, set yogurt is used[simsek2010]
1 %Salt[simsek2010]
Starteryogurt bacteria (back-slopped yogurt at home)

Total time across the recorded steps: 45 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
Milk sugarLactic acid42–45 °CpH 6.6 → 4.6shapes, not to countLactobacillus helveticusLactobacilli

What changes: Yogurt bacteria sour warm milk to pH 4.6 and it sets

Step 1 of 5
Make the yogurt
Time
Not documented
Temperature
42–45 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
pH 6.6 → 4.6
Reported
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactobacillus helveticus
Lactobacilli

Output: set yogurt, chilled overnight at 4 °C.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

yogurt bacteria sour the milk

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

Çökelek is made by heating yogurt, not by renneting milk, so the curd is set by heat and the acid already in the yogurt. It is low in fat and lightly salted, and has a short shelf life unless dried.

Milk
Set yogurt from cow milk
Ripening
Fresh, or dried for keeping
Composition
Market samples averaged 29.83 % total solids, 0.68 % salt and 4.31 % fat

Related ferments

Variants

  • Dried çökelekMixed with dill or black cumin and dried at 40, 50 or 60 °C in a trial; pH 6.06–6.13 after drying.
  • SürkSpiced çökelek shaped and aged in jars (Hatay).

Safety

Turkish law has no standard for çökelek. In 30 market samples, coliforms turned up in 11 and yeasts and moulds in 27, so keep it cold; drying at 40–60 °C was tested to extend shelf life.

History and sources

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

Çökelek is one of the best-known cheeses in Turkey and is made from yogurts too sour to eat.

  1. [simsek2010] Simsek B., Sagdic O. 2010, Determination of fatty acids and chemical characteristics of Cokelek cheese from cows milk using L. helveticus and/or yoghurt bacteria, Food Science and Technology Research 16(3):179–184paper
  2. [kalayci2023] Kalaycı N. et al. 2023, Determination of elemental contents and microbiological and chemical properties of Çökelek cheeses consumed in Turkey, Biological Trace Element Research 201(6):3069–3076 (abstract)paper
  3. [ergene2019] Ergene G., Arslan S. 2019, Chemical and sensory characteristics of dried Çökelek cheeses at different temperatures, Journal of Food Processing and Preservation 43(6):e13985 (abstract)paper