Chechil ( hy, չեչիլ) or chechili ( ka, ჩეჩილი) is an
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
brined
string cheese
String cheese is any of several different types of cheese where the manufacturing process aligns the proteins in the cheese, which makes it stringy.
When mozzarella is heated to 60 °C (140 °F) and then stretched, the milk proteins ...
,
[Petrosian., I. and Underwood., D. (2006). ''Armenian Food: Fact, Fiction and Folklore''. Yerkir Publishing, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.] popular in
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
and
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. It has a consistency approximating that of
mozzarella
Mozzarella (, ; nap, muzzarella ) is a southern Italian cheese traditionally made from Italian buffalo's milk by the pasta filata method.
Fresh mozzarella is generally white but when seasoned it turns to a light yellow depending on the anim ...
or
sulguni
Sulguni ( ka, სულგუნი, სულუგუნი ''sulguni, suluguni''; sva, სჷლგინ, ლჷჯმარე ''selgin, lejmare''; xmf, სელეგინ ''selegin'') is a brined Georgian cheese from the Svaneti and S ...
and is produced in the form of dense strings, rolled up in a figure eight of thick braid-shaped ropes. Chechil is a smoked, braided, salty, string-cheese beer snack that is enjoyed by beer drinkers and enthusiasts across the globe. Chechil is made from pasteurized cow milk and is low in fat. Its taste is salty, very chewy, and with a smoky flavor to it. Its consistency is firm and smooth.
Chechil is one of the cheeses produced in the
Armenian Highlands and is also called ''husats'' or ''tel''. It is a kneaded or pulled cheese, and the art of the cheese-maker is in stretching it thin so that it yields a "chicken-breast texture". The cheese is often sold braided in thick ropes.
Curd
Curd is obtained by coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet or any edible acidic substance such as lemon ...
is given a hot whey bath, then kneaded and stretched to the desirable, pliable consistency. In the Western world, ''chechil panir'' is often called Armenian string cheese.
Armenian refugees who settled in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
after the
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...
of 1915 introduced it in the country.
In
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, checil is called çeçil or tel peyniri, and is widely popular being specifically produced in
Erzurum
Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010.
The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...
and in
Ardahan
Ardahan (, ka, არტაანი, tr, hy, Արդահան, translit=Ardahan Russian: Ардаган) is a city in northeastern Turkey, near the Georgian border.
It is the capital of Ardahan Province.
History
Ancient and medieval
Ardaha ...
. In
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, it is very popular as a pairing to beer in bars. It is also popular in
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
and
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
. Chechil is also produced in the
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
under the name Chechil, rather than Chechili. In the
UK, Meskhuri Chechili is a
"protected geographical indication" by agreement between the UK and
Georgian governments.
Chechil is matured in brine and often
smoked before consumption. It is sometimes mixed with
farmer cheese
In the United States, farmer cheese (also farmer's cheese or farmers' cheese) is pressed curds, an unripened cheese made by adding rennet and bacterial starter to coagulate and acidify milk. Farmer cheese may be made from the milk of cows, sh ...
or various
hard cheeses, and is stored in jars or
wine skins.
Nutrient content:
*
Fat
In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food.
The term often refers spec ...
— 5–10%
*
Water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
— 58–60%
*
Salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
— 4–8%
Because of its low fat content, chechil is often considered and used as diet food.
See also
*
Brined cheese
*
List of cheeses
This is a list of cheeses by place of origin. Cheese is a milk-based food that is produced in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms. Hundreds of types of cheese from various countries are produced. Their styles, textures and flavors depe ...
*
List of smoked foods
This is a list of smoked foods. Smoking is the process of flavoring, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering material, most often wood. Foods have been smoked by humans throughout history. Meats and fish a ...
*
List of stretch-cured cheeses
This is a list of stretch-curd cheeses, comprising cheeses prepared using the ''pasta filata'' technique. The cheeses manufactured from this technique undergo a plasticising and kneading treatment of the fresh curd in hot water, which gives them ...
References
External links
Brined cheeses
Smoked cheeses
Stretched-curd cheeses
Armenian cuisine
Turkish cheeses
{{cheese-stub