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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Bulgaria and the Balkan Peninsula

Kashkaval / Kaşarкашкавал

Milk is set with rennet and the small curd is stirred and warmed to 38–39 °C. The drained curd is cheddared for two to three hours until lactic acid brings it to pH 5.4–5.2 and makes it stretchy. It is sliced, scalded in hot salt water, kneaded and moulded, then ripened cool for about two months. Sheep-milk kashkaval is called Balkan, cow-milk Vitosha and mixed-milk Preslav. Made in 6 steps over 55 days – 6 months. The longest step, ripen cool, takes 55 days – 6 months (Petrova P 2021) and runs at 8–12 °C (Petrova P 2021). Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and subsp. cremoris and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Lactobacillus helveticus and Streptococcus thermophilus do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step55 days – 6 monthsReported[petrova2021]Ripen cool
Temperature8–12 °CReported[petrova2021]Ripen cool
AciditypH 5.2–5.4Reported[petrova2021]Cheddar the curd
Fully documentedCheese55 days – 6 monthsBulgarian national standard BDS 14:2010Family: Pasta filata (stretched-curd) cheese familyMore stretched-curd cheesesMore from Bulgaria

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo fixed amounts are published; the steps follow one account summarised in a review.
Milk · Sheep, cow, buffalo, goat or mixed; at least 3.5 % fat for homemade kashkaval in one account[petrova2021]
Starter cultures · Mesophilic lactococci with thermophilic lactobacilli and Streptococcus thermophilus[petrova2021]
Rennet[petrova2021]
Salt · As a concentrated salt solution for the slices; 1.8–3.0 % salt in the finished cheese[petrova2021]
Starter: mesophilic Lactococcus lactis with thermophilic Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, L. helveticus and Streptococcus thermophilus

Total time across the recorded steps: 55 days – 6 months

Start
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60–63 °C

What changes: Brief heat thins out spoilage bacteria in the milk

Step 1 of 6
Heat-treat the milk lightly
Time
0.4 min
Reported
Temperature
60–63 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
L. delbrueckii
Lactobacillus helveticus
S. thermophilus
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: heat-treated milk.

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

Kashkaval is cheddared before it is stretched. The curd is held warm until lactic acid turns it plastic, then sliced, scalded in hot salt water and kneaded. Mozzarella is stretched in plain hot water and eaten fresh, while kashkaval is ripened for months.

Milk
Balkan is sheep milk, Vitosha cow milk, Preslav a mixture (BDS 14:2010, as summarised)
Composition
BDS 14:2010 minimums for sheep-milk kashkaval: 58 % dry matter, 50 % fat in dry matter; salt 1.8–3.0 %
Ripening
2–6 months for the full aroma

Related ferments

Variants

  • Kashkaval BalkanSheep milk.
  • Kashkaval VitoshaCow milk.
  • Kashkaval PreslavMixed sheep and cow milk.
  • Kashkaval of Pindos (Greece)Sheep or sheep and goat milk; brined 4 days at 17 °C and ripened at 12 °C to 90 days in one make.

History and sources

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

  1. [petrova2021] Petrova P., Ivanov I., Tsigoriyna L., Valcheva N., Vasileva E., Parvanova-Mancheva T., Arsov A., Petrov K. 2021, Traditional Bulgarian dairy products — ethnic foods with health benefits, Microorganisms 9:480, doi:10.3390/microorganisms9030480 (review; summarises BDS 14:2010)paper
  2. [pappa2020] Pappa E.C., Kondyli E., Bosnea L., Mataragas M., Giannouli A., Tsiraki M. 2020, Semi-industrial production of kashkaval of Pindos cheese using sheep or a mixture of sheep–goat milk and utilization of the whey for manufacturing Urda cheese, Foods 9:736, doi:10.3390/foods9060736paper