Turkey loves its cheeses. Along with bread, it seems that no sofra (table) is complete without it in some form or another. At the breakfast table, cheese is usually served (in all its glory) by itself. Rarely will two cheeses be served on the same plate. If you are looking for the classic post-dinner cheese plate, go to France. There are other dishes, at breakfast, showcasing the love of cheese, but on a more subtle level. Dishes like börek (flaky layered phyllo) and gözleme (savoury crepe with various fillings) feature cheese, but it is not the star. Whether you can see it or not, cheese is somewhere on the table.
The best part of Turkish cheeses is also its detriment. Traditionally, the dairy product is produced differently in each region. Producers made do with what nature gave them: terrain, climate, animals, and so on. These procedures eventually turned into tradition. So that today, you can find the same type of cheese in every region and each one tasting different from the last. While variety is great, it also means that we’ve only tasted a fraction of what is out there. We’ll just have to keep on tasting. Damn. Below we’ve charted the five most popular and tradition Turkish cheeses: beyaz, kaşar, tulum, lor, and mihalıç.
From humble tables to the most elaborate to the grimiest of çilingir sofrası (rakı table), cheese does not discriminate – it makes its way onto every table.
