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Cheese from Bulgaria

Bulgarian white brined sirene (Bulgarsko byalo salamureno sirene PDO)Българско бяло саламурено сирене

Pasteurised cow, sheep, goat or buffalo milk, or a mix, is soured with a starter that holds Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and set with rennet at 30–34 °C. The curd is cut, pressed in cloth, cut into blocks and salted in 18–22 % brine or with dry salt. After a warm pre-ripening the blocks are packed under a 6–10 % brine and ripen at 12 ± 2 °C for 45 or 60 days.

Fully documentedCheese48 days – 2.1 monthsPDO (EU), PDO-BG-02656 (application OJ C 129, 13.4.2023; registration OJ L 192, 31.7.2023)Family: White brined cheese family (Feta PDO as template)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe specification gives the dry-salt dose per 15 ± 0.5 kg of cheese and brine strengths, but no milk volumes. Blocks weigh 0.2–2.0 kg.
Raw milk from Bulgaria, pasteurised before useMixes are sheep–cow 50/50, sheep–goat 70/30 or cow–buffalo 50/50[sirene-spec]
Starter of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Lactobacillus casei, and a symbiotic starter of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, made in Bulgaria[sirene-oj2023][sirene-spec]
50 % calcium chloride solution[sirene-spec]
Rennet (animal or microbial)[sirene-spec]
Salt18–22 % brine, or 0.600–0.700 kg dry salt per 15 ± 0.5 kg cheese[sirene-spec]
Covering brine of water and salt with citric or lactic acid, or of whey and salt6–10 % salt[sirene-spec]
StarterBulgarian cheese starter with Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, plus Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Lactobacillus casei

Total time across the recorded steps: 48 days – 2.1 months

Start
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68–74 °C

What changes: The milk is pasteurised and cooled to setting heat

Step 1 of 8
Pasteurise the milk
Time
20–25 min
Set
Temperature
68–74 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
L. delbrueckii
S. thermophilus
Lactococcus lactis
Lactobacillus casei

Milk not made into cheese the same day is first thermised for 15 s at 63–65 °C (cow, goat, buffalo) or 60–62 °C (sheep and mixed), cooled to 4–6 °C and kept no more than 18 hours.

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

Pasteurised cow, sheep, goat or buffalo milk, or a mix, is soured with a starter that holds Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and set with rennet at 30–34 °C. The curd is cut, pressed in cloth, cut into blocks and salted in 18–22 % brine or with dry salt. After a warm pre-ripening the blocks are packed under a 6–10 % brine and ripen at 12 ± 2 °C for 45 or 60 days. Made in 8 steps over 48 days – 2.1 months. The longest step, ripen in brine, takes 45 days – 2 months (Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Bulgaria) and runs at 10–14 °C (Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Bulgaria). Salt is 18–22 % (Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Bulgaria). Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Lactobacillus casei do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step45 days – 2 monthsSet[sirene-spec][sirene-oj2023]Ripen in brine
Temperature10–14 °CSet[sirene-spec]Ripen in brine
Salt18–22 %Set[sirene-spec]Salt in brine or dry
AciditypH 4.2–4.4Set[sirene-oj2023]Ripen in brine

What makes this one different

The national white brined cheese made with a Bulgarian starter that holds Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus. Its PDO covers the whole of Bulgaria and five milk choices, and it ripens in brine for 45 or 60 days by milk type.

Ripening
At least 45 days (cow, goat) or 60 days (sheep, buffalo, mixed)
Composition
Dry matter at least 46 % (cow, goat, mixed) or 48 % (sheep, buffalo); fat in dry matter at least 44–48 % by milk; ripeness (soluble to total protein) at least 14 % or 16 % for sheep milk
Additives
No preservatives, stabilisers or emulsifiers

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is pasteurised at 68–74 °C for 20–25 minutes. The finished cheese is at pH 4.2–4.4 with 3.0–4.0 % salt and is stored at -1 to +4 °C. The specification orders a staphylococcal enterotoxin test when coagulase-positive staphylococci exceed 10^5 cfu/g during processing.

Hazards the sources name: Coagulase-positive staphylococci; the specification orders a test for staphylococcal enterotoxins when counts during processing exceed 10^5 cfu/g.

History and sources

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

The single document says historical references to cheese dairies in Bulgaria go back to 1558. It cites an 1872 article on cheese making and Hristo Tahtunov's 1903 book on white brined cheese, and says the Bulgarian Agricultural Company introduced pasteurisation and pure cultures in 1934.

  1. [sirene-oj2023] European Commission 2023, Publication of an application for registration, single document 'Българско бяло саламурено сирене / Bulgarsko byalo salamureno sirene' PDO-BG-02656, OJ C 129, 13.4.2023, p. 67 (Publications Office cellar copy)spec
  2. [sirene-spec] Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Bulgaria, Specification of the PDO 'Българско бяло саламурено сирене' (product specification, section 3.5 method of production)spec
  3. [sirene-register] European Commission, eAmbrosia register record for 'Българско бяло саламурено сирене / Bulgarsko byalo salamureno sirene', PDO-BG-02656, publications Official Journal C 129, 13.4.2023 and Official Journal L 192, 31.7.2023, public API listinggov
  4. [ermenlieva2025] Ermenlieva N., Stamova S., Ivanova N., Atanasova P., Marinova V., Ibryamova S. et al. 2025, Yeast Ecology in White Brined Cheeses, Correlations with Physicochemical Parameters in Artisanal and Industrial Products, Microorganisms 13(9):1965paper