Ossetian cheese () is a traditional cheese of the national Ossetian cuisine. It is prepared from sheep, goat or whole cow's

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

Production

To fresh warm milk in an enameled bucket or deep pot is added whey (, from which the old name of cheese is , literally translated as "made in whey"), infused with the source of enzymes - pieces of cleaned and salted cow's

stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the upper gastrointestinal tract of Human, humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The Ancient Greek name for the stomach is ''gaster'' which is used as ''gastric'' in medical t ...

(rennet). The

is stirred and left in a warm place for 40–60 minutes, while controlling the curdling process of the milk to prevent over-fermentation. The curdled milk is stirred, then squeezed from the whey and placed in a mold.

Interesting facts

Cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

was one of the main foodstuffs of the ancestors of the

Ossetians The Ossetians ( or ; ),Merriam-Webster (2021), s.v"Ossete" also known as Ossetes ( ), Ossets ( ), and Alans ( ), are an Iranian peoples, Iranian ethnic group who are indigenous to Ossetia, a region situated across the northern and southern side ...

(

Alans The Alans () were an ancient and medieval Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today North Caucasus – while some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded ...

) in the conditions of mountain farming. Cheese had a characteristic flavor and could be stored for a long time.

References

Ossetian cuisine Russian cheeses {{Cheese-stub