Traditional Cheeses of the Central Anatolia Region in Turkey

In recent years, methods of production and composition of many traditional cheeses have been determined. There are more than a hundred different types of cheese in Turkey, which are generally classified according to the origin, production methods and ripening conditions. In this paper, 15 different types of cheese produced in Central Anatolia Region of Turkey have been introduced. The most common ones are Konya Küflü (Moldy) cheese, Divle Tulum (animal skin bag) cheese, Gölbaşı Tulum cheese, Çepni Tulum cheese, Ereğli Cloth cheese, Karaman Tulum cheese, Yozgat Çanak (Pot) cheese, Çömlek cheese, Kayseri Çömlek cheese, Niğde Küp (Gödelek) cheese, Sivas Küp cheese, Çankırı Küpecik cheese, and Ayaş Küpecik (Basma) cheese. Two of them, Küp and Tulum cheeses, are more frequently encountered and generally produced from sheep’s milk and goat’s milk. Most of these traditional cheeses have been produced using different manufacturing techniques depending on the geographical location and habits.

Keywords: Ayas Basma, Central anatolia region, Cömlek cheese, Divle tulum, Konya küflü, Küp cheese, Traditional cheeses.