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Cheese from Lithuania

Lietuviškas varškės sūris PGILietuviškas varškės sūris

Pasteurised cow milk is soured with a mesophilic lactic culture alone, with no rennet, then the curd is separated from the whey and packed into small triangular cloth bags knotted at the wide end. The bags are pressed until the curd is firm, cooled to 6–12 °C and opened, giving a triangular cheese eaten fresh, or later smoked, baked or dried. It is an acid-set, unripened curd cheese.

Fully documentedCheese26 hPGI (EU; entered in the register by Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1111/2013; minor amendment published 2017)Family: Fresh lactic (acid-set) cheese family

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification gives no amounts. Cheeses range from a few hundred grams to 5 kg or more.
Cow milk, standardised and pasteurised[lt-pgi]
Mesophilic lactic acid bacteria starter culture[lt-pgi]
Salt (optional)[lt-pgi]
Herbs grown in Lithuania, such as caraway, garlic or mint (optional)[lt-pgi]
Startermesophilic lactic acid bacteria culture only; no rennet

Total time across the recorded steps: 26 h

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countLactic acid bacteria28 °CMilk proteinGel (curd)

What changes: A lactic culture sours the warm milk until it sets, with no rennet

Step 1 of 5
Pasteurise and sour the milk
Time
12 h
Reported
Temperature
28 °C
Reported
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

the mesophilic culture sours the milk until it curdles

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

At a glance

Pasteurised cow milk is soured with a mesophilic lactic culture alone, with no rennet, then the curd is separated from the whey and packed into small triangular cloth bags knotted at the wide end. The bags are pressed until the curd is firm, cooled to 6–12 °C and opened, giving a triangular cheese eaten fresh, or later smoked, baked or dried. It is an acid-set, unripened curd cheese. Made in 5 steps over 26 h. The longest step, pasteurise and sour the milk, takes 12 h (Vasiliauskaite A 2022) and runs at 28 °C (Vasiliauskaite A 2022). Mesophilic lactic acid bacteria starter culture does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step12 hReported[vasiliauskaite2022]Pasteurise and sour the milk
Temperature28 °CReported[vasiliauskaite2022]Pasteurise and sour the milk
AciditypH at least 4.3Set[lt-pgi]Cool and unwrap

What makes this one different

The milk is set by a lactic culture alone, with no rennet and no ripening, so this is an acid-set curd cheese, not a ripened one. Its shape comes from pressing the curd in a knotted triangular cloth bag.

Dry matter
At least 31 % in fresh, baked and smoked cheese; at least 67 % in dried cheese
Fat
7–25 % fat by weight, or low-fat (up to 0.5 %)
Shape
Triangular prism with rounded corners and the imprint of the knotted bag at the thick end

Related ferments

Variants

  • SmokedSmoked after cooling; dark yellow to brown outside, dense and crumbly
  • BakedRubbed with seasonings and salt, rested at least 12 hours, then baked
  • DriedDried until hard, with at least 67 % dry matter
  • LiliputasA separate Lithuanian PGI, a small ripened cheese brined for 48 hours in the original text, or 36 to 48 hours in a 2019 amendment application, then matured on racks at 10–14 °C and 93–94 % humidity where the mould Penicillium pallidum grows

Safety

The milk is pasteurised, and the specification sets a pH of at least 4.3. It is packed where it is made, the specification says, because it is crumbly, its shelf life is short and there is a risk of bacterial contamination. Smoking, baking or drying were the old ways to keep it longer.

History and sources

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

The specification cites manor inventories from the 16th century and a 1690 description by pastor Theodor Lepner of salted curd hung in cloth to drain. Curd was once set by leaving sour milk in a cooling bread oven, then bagged and pressed under a board and stone. The name was entered in the EU register as a PGI by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1111/2013 of 5 November 2013.

  1. [lt-pgi] European Commission 2017, Publication of an application for approval of a minor amendment, 'Lietuviškas varškės sūris', EU No PGI-LT-0853-AM01 — 7.4.2017, Official Journal C 251, 2.8.2017 (with the amended single document); first single document OJ C 57, 27.2.2013spec
  2. [vasiliauskaite2022] Vasiliauskaite A., Mileriene J., Songisepp E., Rud I., Muizniece-Brasava S. et al. 2022, Application of Edible Coating Based on Liquid Acid Whey Protein Concentrate with Indigenous Lactobacillus helveticus for Acid-Curd Cheese Quality Improvement, Foods 11(21):3353 (methods describe the acid-curd cheese bought from a Lithuanian artisanal dairy)paper
  3. [liliputas-am] UAB Lukšių pieninė 2019, Application for approval of a minor amendment, 'Liliputas', EU No PGI-LT-00868-AM01 – 10.04.2019spec
  4. [reg1111] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1111/2013 of 5 November 2013 entering a name in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications [Lietuviškas varškės sūris (PGI)], Official Journal L 298, 8.11.2013, p. 25spec