Cheesy Thursday #1 - Bulgarian white cheese (brine cheese/саламурено сирене)

Hello, steemit fellows!
From this week on I will post some facts and various information about different types of cheese every Thursday.
I made this decision, because I recently started buying different cheeses and enjoy their different aromas and flavors. Trust me, the cheese world is so unique and there are so many different types of cheese to be explored, every one to be with absolutely different characteristics.

So let’s begin...

My choice for the first week of the “cheesy Thursday” is of course Bulgarian white cheese, called brine cheese, or “salamureno sirene” in Bulgarian. I picked this candidate, because I’m from Bulgaria, of course!

This type of cheese is in fact not popular only in Bulgaria, but all over the Balkans. It’s popular also in Croatia, Serbia, Albania, Romania... And even in Israel! People in all these countries used to make their homemade cheese for decades... and usually it was made from cow’s milk generally, but goat’s milk and sheep milk was used to make “sirene” too!

That’s the cheese from my childhood... The cheese that will always be just “cheese” for me and almost all Bulgarians!
It’s slightly crumby with a somewhat grainy texture. Not so fatty at all(at least compared to some other cheeses)
You will most likely see this cheese in blocks and afterwards it’s most commonly cut into smaller cubes of approximately 2-3 every side. Thus it can be served with sweet red pepper and some sunflower oil.

It’s usually served in various salads too, both grained and cut into cubes. Take a look on the most commonly seen salad in Bulgaria - “Shopska salad”!

Of course it’s part of the balkan’s Banitsa too. Banitsa is prepared by layering a mixture of whisked eggs and pieces of cheese between thin pastry and then baked in an oven. The result is gorgeous and you must definitely try “Banitsa” if you have the chance!

These are only a tiny part of the various ways, you can eat and enjoy this white cheese. And it definitely worths tasting it. You’re not a true Bulgarian, if you don’t have a block of white cheese in your refrigerator. Some families even have their homemade one, but it usually is not so easy to make this kind of a dairy product, although you don’t have to leave it for a long periods of time for aging and maturation, like some French it Belgian cheeses. I think it only needs about a month to become ready for consumption.

So let me know what you think about this kind of cheese. I will be happy to read your comments.
Make sure to upvote my post if you like it!
Stay tuned for the next Thursday! Which cheese will I choose?