Kasseri

Kasseri (Greek κασέρι; or in Turkish kaşar^[1]) is a medium-hard pale yellow cheese made from unpasteurized sheep milk with very little, if any, goat's milk mixed in,^[2] in Greece and Turkey. There is also a cow's milk version.

It is a soft textured, stringy rather than crumbly, chewy, hard-rind cheese and belongs to the pasta filata family of cheeses, like Provolone or Mozzarella.^[2] The use of fresh unpasteurized milk is necessary to obtain the correct flavor and texture, and aging of at least four months is required for the development of flavor. Aged kasseri faintly resembles Parmesan or Asiago but is not as creamy.

The name "Kasseri", produced in Greece is a protected designation of origin in the European Union.^[3]

Kasseri is consumed as is, in sandwiches, as the main constituent in kasseropita pie, or in "kasseri tiganismeno" or saganaki.

Assyrians use Kasseri cheese to make a traditional Assyrian cheese dish, called "Gupta Tomirta," ܓܘܒܬܐ ܜܘܡܪܬܐ -- meaning "buried cheese" -- that is topped with cumin, and sometimes other seasonings.

See also

• Cheddar cheese
• Turkish cuisine
• Cuisine of Cyprus
• Assyrian cuisine
• Greek cuisine
• Greek food products
• Kefalotyri cheese
• Gruyère (cheese)
• Jarlsberg cheese
• Swiss cheese
• Leerdammer
• Maasdam cheese
• Emmental (cheese)

References

1. Merriam-Webster Unabridged - kasseri
2. "The Art of Making Kasseri", Epikouria Magazine, Fall/Winter 2006
3. EU page on Kasseri PDO