Brinza de vaci, literally translated as “cow cheese”, is a type of fresh

dairy product Dairy products or milk products, also known as lacticinia, are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, nanny goat, and ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food items in th ...

made from

whole 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-modulating ...

, the product resembles

quark (dairy product) Quark or quarg is a type of fresh dairy product made from milk. The milk is souring, soured, usually by adding lactic acid bacteria cultures, and strained once the desired curdling is achieved. It can be classified as Fresh cheese, fresh Sour ...

. It is traditional in the cuisines of

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and Slavic-speaking countries.

Production

Fresh milk is kept at room temperature 22-23° for about 36 hours until it becomes sour and it coagulates, the fatty content rises to the top of the milk. The top layer is a

named smântână, comparable to

crème fraîche Crème fraîche (English pronunciation: , , lit. "fresh cream") is a dairy product, a soured cream containing 10–45% butterfat, with a pH of approximately 4.5., p. 181''f'' It is soured with a bacterial culture. European labeling regulations ...

. After collecting the fatty layer, the rest of the milk can be mixed vigorously and consumed as kefir. To make the cow cheese, the soured milk is heated gently not exceeding 50°C, until the

whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard ...

separates at the edges, the milk is caught in the middle and the fatty content floats on the surface. The content is gently mixed to incorporate the fat into the large pieces of cheese forming in the middle. The slightly cooled composition will be strained through a

cheesecloth Cheesecloth is a loose-woven gauze-like carded cotton cloth used primarily in cheesemaking and cooking. Grades Cheesecloth is available in at least seven different grades, from open to extra-fine weave. Grades are distinguished by the numbe ...

or a gauze. With the whey strained, the cheese in the gauze retains a spherical shape. It is soft, white and crumbly.

Common uses

In Moldova, brânză de vaci is used predominantly in plăcintă , dumplings, syrniki.

References

{{reflist Romanian cheeses Cow's-milk cheeses