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Cheese from Türkiye, Ayvalık and Burhaniye districts of Balıkesir Province

Sepet peyniri (Ayvalık kelle / sepet peyniri)sepet peyniri

Sheep, goat or cow milk, or a mix, is heated briefly at 57–68 °C, renneted at 27–36 °C and the curd is scalded in its whey at 38–50 °C. The curd is shaped in strainers, which gives the basket (sepet) shape, rubbed with salt, rested 10–21 days and ripened at least 120 days in 10–12 % brine, where its holes grow.

Fully documentedCheese4.3 months – 4.7 monthsGeographical indication (designation of origin, mahreç işareti), TÜRKPATENT No 1664, registered 22.11.2024Family: White brined cheese family (Feta PDO as template)

Recipe

Sepet peyniri (Ayvalık kelle / sepet peyniri), a photo from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Amounts from a sourceRennet is given per 100 l of milk and salt per 2.5 kg block, from the registration.
Raw sheep, goat or cow milk, or a mix with 10–30 % sheep or goat milk; nothing skimmed or added[ayvalik-gi]
Abomasum rennet (şırdan mayası)10–20 g per 100 l of milk[ayvalik-gi]
Salt for rubbing250–270 g per 2.5 kg block[ayvalik-gi]
Ripening brine10–12 % salt[ayvalik-gi]

Total time across the recorded steps: 4.3 months – 4.7 months

Start
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57–68 °C

What changes: Strained raw milk is heated briefly in the cauldron

Step 1 of 6
Strain and heat the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
57–68 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactobacillus plantarum
Weissella confusa
W. paramesenteroides
Pediococcus pentosaceus
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

At a glance

Sheep, goat or cow milk, or a mix, is heated briefly at 57–68 °C, renneted at 27–36 °C and the curd is scalded in its whey at 38–50 °C. The curd is shaped in strainers, which gives the basket (sepet) shape, rubbed with salt, rested 10–21 days and ripened at least 120 days in 10–12 % brine, where its holes grow. Made in 6 steps over 4.3 months – 4.7 months. The longest step, ripen in brine, takes at least 3.9 months (TÜRKPATENT 2024) and runs at 6–8 °C (Ercan D 2014). Salt is 10–12 % (TÜRKPATENT 2024). Isolates from artisanal Sepet cheese were closely related to Lactobacillus plantarum, Weissella confusa, Weissella paramesenteroides, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Enterococcus casseliflavus, Enterococcus durans and Enterococcus faecium does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 3.9 monthsSet[ayvalik-gi]Ripen in brine
Temperature6–8 °CReported[ercan2014]Ripen in brine
Salt10–12 %Set[ayvalik-gi]Ripen in brine

What makes this one different

Shaped in strainers that give it a basket shape, scalded at no more than 38–50 °C so holes can form, and ripened in brine for at least 120 days while the holes grow.

Ripening
At least 120 days in brine
Composition
Fat in dry matter at least 40 %; moisture at most 60 %; salt in dry matter at most 6 %
Storage
Kept, carried and sold below 4 °C

Related ferments

Safety

The registration requires storage and sale below 4 °C. A study of artisanal cheese found staphylococci and coliforms below 1 log cfu/g by the end of ripening.

Hazards the sources name: Presumptive Staphylococcus aureus (1.25 log cfu/g on average) and coliforms, below 1 log cfu/g by the end of ripening; In sepet cheese from one Balıkesir dairy, Staphylococcus aureus at 1.5 x 10^2 cfu/g and coliforms at 40 cfu/g; Escherichia coli and mould not detected (abstract).

History and sources

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

The registration says production was started by cheese masters who settled in the area in the population exchange (mübadele).

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [ayvalik-gi] TÜRKPATENT 2024, Geographical indication registration No 1664, 'Ayvalık Kelle Peyniri / Ayvalık Sepet Peyniri', designation of origin, registered by Ayvalık Municipalityspec
  2. [ercan2014] Ercan D., Korel F., Orşahin H. 2014, Microbiological quality of artisanal Sepet cheese, International Journal of Dairy Technology 67(3):384–393 (abstract)paper
  3. [karakas2006] Karakaş R., Korukluoğlu M. 2006, Geleneksel bir peynirimiz sepet peynirinin kimyasal ve mikrobiyolojik özellikleri (A traditional cheese of ours, sepet cheese, its chemical and microbiological properties), Gıda (The Journal of Food), Balıkesir University open-access repository (abstract)paper