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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Georgia, Samtskhe-Javakheti

Meskhuri chechili (Meskhetian chechili)

Made in 4 steps over 5 min – 10 min. The longest step, set the curd, takes 5–10 min (Georgian GI specification 'Meskhetian Chechil…) and runs at 38–40 °C (Georgian GI specification 'Meskhetian Chechil…).

Key numbers
Main step5–10 minSet[uk-spec][uk-spec-2]Set the curd
Temperature38–40 °CSet[uk-spec][uk-spec-2]Set the curd
DocumentedCheese5 min – 10 minGI (Georgia reg. 8, 2012-01-24); UK–Georgia PGIFamily: Pasta filata (stretched-curd) cheese familyMore stretched-curd cheesesMore from Georgia

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
cow milk, skimmed (fat-free)
Starter: milk ripened to 45–50 °T acidity

Total time across the recorded steps: 5 min – 10 min

Start
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What changes: Skimmed cow milk goes into the vat

Step 1 of 4
Prepare the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

C, skimmed (fat-free)

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

Georgian skim-milk thread cheese, the Meskhetian form of chechil; white, salty, smell of cultured milk; smoked version exists. Spec's composition block is copied from Megruli sulguni (moisture ≤60 %, fat in DM ≥20 %, salt 4–8 %).

Size
0.5–3 kg rope-like bundles

Variants

  • smoked: same cheese smoked

History and sources

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

  1. [uk-spec] Georgian GI specification 'Meskhetian Chechili' (via UK Defra)spec
  2. [uk-spec-2] GOV.UK protected food name entrygov