Basket cheese is a kind of
cheese
Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges 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 production, ...
originating from Mediterranean regions. As its name suggests, the cheese is traditionally formed inside a basket, which leaves a woven imprint on its surface. Fresh basket cheese has no salt taste, while dry basket cheese is mildly salty.
Turkish basket cheese, or sepet peyniri, is a fresh-curd cheese that originates from the
Aegean Region
The Aegean Region () is one of the 7 Geographical regions of Turkey, geographical regions of Turkey. The largest city in the region is İzmir. Other big cities are Manisa, Aydın, Denizli, Muğla, Afyonkarahisar and Kütahya.
Located in w ...
. Traditionally, it is made from
goat milk, but
sheep's and
cow's milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulati ...
are often used. The cheese is most associated with seaside towns, particularly
Karaburun,
Çeşme
Çeşme () is a coastal town and the administrative centre of the district of the same name in Turkey's westernmost end, on a promontory on the tip of the peninsula that also carries the same name and that extends inland to form a whole with the ...
, and
Ayvalık
Ayvalık () is a seaside town on the northwestern Aegean coast of Turkey. It is a district of Balıkesir province. The town centre is connected to Cunda Island by a causeway and is surrounded by the archipelago of Ayvalık Islands, which face ...
, where it is generally made from sheep's milk and known as kelle cheese. It is traditionally made using baskets of
reed called ''gova'', but commercial sepet peyneri is often shaped in plastic containers.
In Italy, basket cheese is an ingredient in several savory pies traditionally served during
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
.
See also
*
Queso panela
Queso panela (panela cheese) is a white, fresh and smooth Mexican cheese of pasteurized cow's milk. It is also known as ''queso canasta'' or ''queso de la canasta''. It is served most often as part of appetizer dishes such as ''nopal'' salads or ...
*
Ricotta
Ricotta ( in Italian) is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the ...
References
External links
Cheeses from Middle East
{{Turkish cheeses
Cow's-milk cheeses
Middle Eastern cheeses
Turkish cheeses