To taste a wonderful salty snack, you don’t have to run to the supermarket and buy incredible delicacies. Today we will talk about how to make Chechil cheese at home, the recipe for which you will find in our article along with detailed instructions. It turns out incredibly tasty, juicy and, most importantly, without the slightest suspicion of the presence of GMOs or other unhealthy components in the composition.

Chechil cheese is known to us under another name - “Pigtail” cheese. We can find it on the counter of any store. It is considered the closest “relative” of suluguni; it is similar in taste and consistency, but its taste and density are still different.

There is no need to age Chechil cheese for weeks; it is prepared quickly both in industrial conditions and at home.

Well, let's try to do it?

Ingredients

• — 3 l + -
• Pepsin – 10 g + -

For the brine

• - taste + -
• - taste + -

Cooking at home

The recipe calls for the use of rennet or pepsin. You can buy such “exotic” in almost any pharmacy.

Add pepsin at the rate of 1 g per 300 ml of liquid.

If we have village milk in front of us, it must be “skimmed” or skimmed, since in the original technology Chechil cheese is made from milk with a low percentage of fat.

1. To do this, put raw milk in a saucepan or jar in the refrigerator overnight, and in the morning remove the top layer, that is, the cream, with a ladle. We remember that this will reduce the volume of milk, so in advance we pour it into a pan larger than 3 liters by about 20-25%.

1. Then we leave the milk in the open air and let it sour naturally during the day - this way the cheese will turn out more tasty and will stretch better.
   It is the acidity of the milk in this recipe that determines how well the cheese pieces can be turned into threads. The optimal moment is when it begins to curl.

1. We install a divider on the gas stove so that the milk in the pan heats up gradually and evenly, and heat it to 32 - 35 ° C, remove from the heat.
2. Pour in pepsin in proportion and leave for half an hour. There is no need to touch or interfere with anything - just let it sit.
3. Over time, a dense mass forms in the pan, put it back on the stove and heat it to 50°C, stirring gently. This will help the serum separate completely.
4. Then we filter the resulting flakes through cheesecloth and place them on the table. We put on gloves and pull the flakes into threads. They can be twisted into balls or braided, as we are used to seeing.
5. We make a saline solution and put the resulting chechil cheese in it overnight. In the morning the product is ready for use. You can eat it straight or put it in the smoker to acquire a bright color and spicy aroma.

But there is a faster way to prepare a delicious snack at home.

How to make chechil from fresh milk

For this recipe we need 4 liters of fresh low-fat milk.

How to make Chechil cheese

• Warm the milk to a temperature no higher than 38°C and add 1 g of rennet. Mix everything thoroughly and immediately remove from heat.
• Leave it to curl and thicken for 35-40 minutes, and then cut the resulting mass into squares directly in the pan - this will ensure better separation of the whey. Leave again for half an hour.
• In the meantime, prepare a colander, a large sieve or sieve - cover it with several layers of gauze. We discard the resulting cheese and let it drain for an hour.
• We heat water over the fire so that the hand can tolerate it, put pieces of cheese into it and pull them into threads. Thanks to the temperature, they will become more plastic and will not tear.
• We twist the finished chechil in any convenient way and place it in a pre-prepared saline solution.

Now you know how to make Chechil cheese at home. Cooking recipes vary, so we try different ones to choose the right one, because making cheese is not just a labor-intensive, but also a very delicate process. Who knows which method will work in your hands and in your kitchen?

Share the details of making Chechil cheese in the comments and post photos of the finished product, friends!

Chechil cheese was invented in the Caucasus by Armenian shepherds who stored milk for the winter by making cheese from it. You can probably try real Chechil cheese only in the villages of Armenia, although modern cheese producers do everything they can to bring their cheeses as close as possible to the taste of the original Chechil cheese, prepared at home.

How Chechil cheese is made

To produce Chechil cheese, pasteurized milk is used. The fat content of such milk should be very low; skim milk products are most often used. The milk is heated to thirty-two degrees, after which rennet, pepsin, is added to it. After some time, curd lumps and clots form in the milk. After the formation of such lumps, the mixture is mixed well and heated to sixty degrees. The temperature is constantly monitored; if the mixture is heated too high or, conversely, too low, the cheese will not turn out.

As a result of heating, cheese flakes are formed, which float in the resulting whey. The flakes are filtered, separating the whey, salted well and laid out on a flat surface. They are then manually formed into threads. When the raw material is properly prepared, cheese flakes become very plastic, so stretching and forming a thread of the required thickness and size is not difficult for an experienced cheese maker. These threads are wound into balls or braided into short tight braids, and then soaked in brine. The brine is prepared not very strong, since over-salting the product will make it tougher. The cheese must lie in the brine for a month, during which the product matures. In a braid, thanks to the dense weaving, the cheese retains many useful substances for a long time, although it can be stored for no more than two and a half months. After this period, cheese made without adding preservatives may spoil.

What are the benefits and harms of Chechil cheese?

Due to the fact that the cheese is made from low-fat or skim milk, Chechil has a fat content of 10%. Thus, Chechil is one of the lowest calorie cheeses, it is perfect for those who adhere to various weight loss diets.

If you use Chechil instead of fatty gourmet cheeses, the calorie content of your diet will be significantly reduced, since one hundred grams of this cheese contains about 300-350 kilocalories. For comparison: the energy value of fatty cheeses averages 500-600 kilocalories.

Cheese is perfect for those who consider themselves fans of fashionable protein diets, “Protasovka” and others. It contains very little fat and no carbohydrates at all, but contains a large amount of protein.

At the same time, eating too much cheese is not recommended. Due to the high (up to eight percent) salt content in Chechil cheese, this product should be limited to those who suffer from kidney and cardiovascular diseases. Those who want to lose weight should also use this cheese with caution, since salt retains water in the body and contributes to weight gain.

Unfortunately, not entirely natural Chechil cheese, produced using simplified technologies, is often found on sale. For example, cheese braids are not smoked in the classical way, but are treated with so-called “liquid smoke.” Sometimes preservatives, dyes, and flavors are added to cheese for better storage. All these additives can cause allergic reactions and make the cheese more harmful.

Varieties of Chechil cheese

Chechil cheese always has the shape of long threads, more or less wide. These threads can be rolled into balls or strands, braided into short braids or wreaths. Interestingly, the shape of a short tight braid made of cheese strings is patented.

The name of the cheese means “confused” in Armenian. Many believe that the highest quality Chechil cheese has the form of the finest threads, which, if desired, can be passed through the eye of a needle. But in reality, there are many varieties of this cheese, and the threads do not always have to be so thin. For example, thick sticks of this cheese are optimal for frying. In addition, it will probably be difficult to check the quality of cheese in a store in this way.

Chechil cheese can be salted or smoked. The second variety is easily recognized by its specific aroma and golden brown crust. Regular salted strings of cheese have a pale yellow, almost white hue and a soft, almost imperceptible crust. Smoked cheese is considered one of the best snacks for beer; it is also suitable as an accompaniment to young grape wine.

The closest relative of Chechil cheese is Suluguni. But Chechil has a more pronounced fermented milk taste and a pronounced fibrous, layered structure.

What do you eat Chechil cheese with?

The taste of Chechil cheese is soft, salty and slightly piquant. It is very good as a snack on its own, for example, on the go. Since the taste of cheese is self-sufficient, it does not need to be combined with other products, although Chechil harmonizes perfectly with bread and fresh vegetables. It can be cooked with vegetables, added to salads, or combined with fried or stewed mushrooms. Interesting combinations of this cheese with meat or seafood. There are even recipes for soups with Chechil cheese. Cheese is added to the soup shortly before the end of cooking. It not only gives the dish an original look, but also significantly enriches the taste.

Smoked cheese is a great appetizer for beer. Unsmoked cheese goes better with grape wine. In Armenia, such cheese is often fried in a frying pan, giving it an original spicy flavor. In this case, savory herbs and spices are often used to change the taste of the cheese.

If Chechil turns out to be too salty, then it can be soaked in fresh milk for several hours and then dried thoroughly. This will give the cheese a delicate taste and pleasant consistency.

Maria Bykova

Surely everyone has seen on store shelves an unusual-looking cheese braided into tight braids. This national Armenian dish is smoked Chechil cheese. It is especially valuable because it is produced by hand, and its bright taste makes the product an excellent snack for any drink, be it wine or beer.

What it is?

Chechil is a pickled extracted cheese; its closest relative is a similar Armenian cheese called Suluguni.

The name “Chechil” literally translates as “confused,” which exactly reflects its main feature – its shape. A tight rope is formed from the elongated cheese threads and braided. This cheese also comes in simpler interpretations - in the form of straws or rolled into a ball.

Chechil has a bright, slightly spicy taste, with pronounced smoked notes. It does not have a pronounced odor that distinguishes it from other types of cheese. Compared to Suluguni, it has a stronger stratification and sour-milk flavor.

Composition and expiration date

Chechil cheese can be made from goat, cow or sheep milk. As a rule, low-fat milk is used for its production, which makes it possible to make cheese with a fat content of 10%. Due to its low fat content, this cheese is an excellent replacement for fattier varieties for people trying to lose weight. The calorie content of Chechil is on average 2 times lower than that of classic cheeses, and is about 300-350 kcal. At the same time, this type of cheese contains practically no carbohydrates, but a lot of protein, which makes it an extremely valuable food product.

Chechil contains a large amount of salt (from 4 to 8%), which, in turn, suggests that excessive consumption of it in food can harm the body. This especially applies to people who have problems with diseases of the urinary and cardiovascular systems. It is also worth considering that salt retains fluid in the body, which can cause unwanted swelling.

When buying cheese, you should inquire about its composition, since there is now a huge amount of Chechil on store shelves, which is not smoked using the classical method, but is treated with chemical smoke substitutes, dyes and preservatives are also added. All these additives make the cheese less tasty and healthy, but it lasts longer. The maximum shelf life of high-quality Chechil is 60 days, and smoked one is 75 days.

Varieties

The classic form of Chechil cheese is a tightly braided braid of long threads. This form is patented and created not just for beauty - the weaving allows you to preserve the properties of the cheese and the juiciness of the product.

On sale you can find Chechil in various forms - straws, twisted ropes, balls or wreaths. For example, to eat this cheese fried, it is most convenient to use thick sticks. On store shelves, this form is most often from the cheese manufacturer Umalat, which has won many positive customer reviews. The “Spaghetti” form is also common.

Classic Chechil has a standard color scheme - from white to yellow. It is worth purchasing white cheese as a priority, since yellowness may indicate the addition of dyes to the product. As for smoked Chechil, its color will range from beige to brown. You also need to pay attention to the uniformity of color - with natural smoking, the color of the cheese will be transitional.

If Chechil is a uniform color, then most likely liquid smoke was used.

How and from what is it prepared?

How is this traditional Armenian cheese made? Chechil cheese is based on milk, which must sour under natural conditions. To speed up the process, a starter is often added to the milk, for example, an already sour product and rennet, while heating them. After the milk has soured, it is curdled under the influence of temperature. Flakes are formed, which are strips up to 10 cm long. They are taken out of the whey, cut into thin strips and shaped. After this, the cheese braids are sent to special smoking chambers.

How to make it at home?

It takes a lot of time and effort to make this cheese, but the result will be worth it.

Ingredients you will need to make Chechil:

• milk (about 10 liters of milk are required to prepare 1 kg of cheese);
• rennet or pepsin;
• sour milk, whey or starter;
• salt.

The milk is left to sour at room temperature; if time is limited, you can add a little starter to it (in such conditions, 12 hours will be enough for souring). When the milk is ready, it is placed on the fire and heated until it curdles. At this point you need to add pepsin or rennet. Thanks to these substances, a clot is formed in the pan.

The mixture is boiled to a temperature of 50-60 degrees, stirring constantly. The flakes are crushed with a spoon, and gradually a long ribbon is formed by stretching, which must be removed from the pan when the desired temperature is reached. The tape is placed on a convenient surface and cut into thin strips no more than 5 mm thick. A pigtail is already formed from these strips. Next, the cheese is placed in cold water for rinsing, and then in brine for salting. The salt concentration in the brine should be about 15%.

After a few days, you can take out the Chechil and eat it or smoke it.

During the entire storage time at home, it is better for Chechil to be in brine.

You will learn more about how to make Chechil cheese at home in the following video.

Recipes with “cheese braid”

If you love Chechil, but want to try something new, then you can easily prepare interesting dishes based on this cheese with your own hands.

Fried Chechil

One of the simplest snacks is fried Chechil. To do this, the braid is unraveled into individual fibers or you can immediately take straws.

You should not take smoked cheese, as it will not lend itself to frying, having already a fairly dense smoked crust on top.

The traditional product of our tables is cheese. This product, very valuable in its nutritional and taste qualities, can also be prepared at home. It turns out to be more useful, and there is no need to talk about cost at all. Depending on the type of cheese, preparation will require a minimum set of ingredients that are available in any kitchen. How to make cheese? It all depends on whether it is soft, hard, boiled, melted, smoked, etc. All this can be prepared at home without much difficulty.

Some subtleties

Before making cheese, you need to take into account some of the subtleties of this process. Firstly, only high-quality products are used for cooking. It is better if it is farm cottage cheese or milk. Store-bought products are not suitable for making cheese at home. The fattier the milk or cottage cheese, the more nutritious the final cheese will be. The product turns out tender and oily. To ripen cheese, its weight must be at least 0.5 kilograms. Why is homemade cheese softer?

Secondly, the final result depends on the press. When we make cheese at home, we can't get enough compression. The rich taste is obtained as a result of long aging of hard cheeses. Instead of a special form, you can use a colander. What remains from cheese production is whey, which is used to make dough or okroshka. Homemade product does not last long, a maximum of a week in the refrigerator. It is better to store it in a cotton towel or paper, but not in a plastic bag.

Simple curd cheese

This cheese recipe is the easiest and fastest. To prepare you will need 1.5 liters of milk, a little salt (to taste) and 500 milliliters of kefir. Heat the milk, but do not boil. Then add kefir and salt to it. Stir the resulting mass and heat it again. Then we filter everything through cheesecloth, which must be folded several times. What remains is the cottage cheese, which must be put into a mold and a weight placed on top. The density of the cheese depends on the aging time. After a few hours, when the mass is well compressed, the product will be ready for use. If desired, you can add any herbs or pepper to the cheese.

Mozzarella

Even this cheese can be made with your own hands. Take 2 liters of high-fat milk, two tablespoons of lemon juice, 2 liters of water, two tablespoons of salt and a quarter of a small spoon of pepsin. Pour half a glass of water and dilute pepsin in it. The milk should be heated to about 70 degrees. Then pour lemon juice and pepsin into it. At this point, the whey will immediately begin to separate. We wait for it to completely peel off, but do not bring the mixture to a boil. We drain the whey, but do not throw it away. We heat the water to 90 degrees, but don’t boil it either.

Add salt to it and lower the cheese mixture for three minutes. Then we take it out, put it on the board and begin to knead it with our hands. The mixture will be very hot, so it is better to wear gloves. Then we carry out the lowering procedure again. This results in a soft and chewy cheese. We wrap it in a sausage shape. Store the cheese in brine in a container. The recipe for making cheese is simple and requires very little cost.

Dutch cheese

At home you can make cheese that tastes like Dutch cheese. This recipe is for those who want to know how to make cheese from cottage cheese. For this you will need three liters of milk, two kilograms of cottage cheese, 100 grams of butter, one chicken egg, half a teaspoon of soda and salt to taste. Bring the milk to a boil and place the cottage cheese in it. Stir the mixture and reduce the heat slightly.

Simmer, stirring constantly, until a plastic mass forms and the whey separates. Then place the cheese in a colander, cover with a towel and leave to drain the liquid. Separately, melt the butter and put the cheese mixture, salt, soda and egg into it. Mix everything thoroughly without turning off the heat. The mixture should reach the consistency of cream and turn yellow. Turn off the heat and transfer the cheese into the mold. We put a load on top and put it in the refrigerator.

Processed cheese

How to make cheese so that it tastes like a processed product? You can prepare it at home quickly and without problems. The cheese recipe includes the following ingredients: one kilogram of cottage cheese, 100 grams of butter, one egg, one teaspoon each of salt and soda, two cloves of garlic and any herbs to taste. Cottage cheese should contain a minimum amount of water. To do this, you need to place it under a press and leave it overnight. The more butter there is in the cheese, the softer it will be.

It is better to mince store-bought cottage cheese, but homemade cottage cheese can be used immediately. First, beat the cheese a little and chop the herbs as finely as possible. Place the cottage cheese in a saucepan or any pan with a thick bottom and add oil, salt and soda to it. Cook the mass until it has a homogeneous and plastic consistency. Don't forget to stir constantly so that the cheese doesn't burn. After 10 minutes, remove the mixture from the heat and add garlic, herbs and egg. Mix and transfer it into the mold. Place the cheese in the refrigerator to harden. Here's how to make cheese at home.

Adyghe cheese

This product has an excellent taste and is used in many dishes. Let's consider one of several preparation options. Take four liters of milk (only natural and fresh), 500 milliliters of Activia yogurt (room temperature) and salt as desired. Place the pan on the fire and pour the milk into it. We heat it strongly, but do not boil. Now we begin to slowly pour in the yogurt. In this case, the mass must be constantly stirred. Gradually flakes will form and the whey will separate. When the whey becomes transparent, you must immediately remove the container from the heat, otherwise the cheese will turn out too dense.

Cover the colander with gauze and place the cheese mixture into it. The whey should drain as much as possible. We form the cheese into the desired shape from the mass and store it in a small amount of liquid. How to make cheese from milk? This is one of the simplest recipes. This product is eaten in its natural form. You can also cut it into pieces, roll in spices and fry on each side. You will get baked cheese. The recipe can be supplemented at your discretion.

Boiled cheese

This unusual dish came to us from Latvia. Boiled cheese is a delicious snack and an excellent addition to main courses. To prepare you will need 250 grams of cottage cheese, 20 grams of butter, 60 grams of sour cream, one egg, caraway seeds and salt to taste. Place the cottage cheese in a bowl and cover with a lid. So it should stand for about 3-4 days. During this time, mold will appear on the cottage cheese, which will give it an extraordinary taste. Now you need to pass it through a meat grinder and add sour cream, salt and caraway seeds to it.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and put the curd mass into it. Mix everything well and gradually heat it up. Then add one egg and mix everything again. We continue to heat the cheese, stirring constantly. You should get a homogeneous mass. Grease the mold with butter and place the cheese in it. We put it in the refrigerator overnight and then eat it.

Homemade cheese

To make this cheese you only need two ingredients. These are milk (3 liters) and pepsin (1 gram). Brynza is considered a product of Caucasian cuisine. However, this type of cheese has firmly entered our diet. It is prepared from sheep or goat milk, but cow's milk can also be used. The main thing is that it is of good quality, fresh and fatty. It is better not to take a store-bought product. Place the container of milk on the fire and heat it. Then add pepsin. It can be purchased at a pharmacy. Pepsin is a white powder. Set the pan aside for 30 minutes or an hour. The milk should acquire the consistency of an acidic product. Then return the pan to the heat and heat well, but do not boil. As a result, a mass will separate, which must be collected and salted. We form the cheese using a mold, cool and eat.

Ossetian cheese

How to cook the famous recipe is simple. To do this, you need to take four liters of good milk, 500 grams of kefir with a fat content of 2.5 percent and 10 “Acidin-pepsin” tablets, which are sold at the pharmacy. Pour the milk into the pan and heat it a little (30 degrees). Then pour in kefir, which should be at room temperature. Mix everything and leave for 10 minutes. Dissolve the tablets in 100 milliliters of water and pour them into a saucepan. Stir the mixture and leave for an hour to form a starter.

It will be ready when a greenish liquid (whey) separates when you press the mixture with a spoon. Without stirring, cut the contents of the pan into squares with a wooden spatula. Leave the cheese for another 20 minutes. Then we take out the mass and put it into a mold with holes to drain the liquid. Cover the cheese mass with a plate and place the weight. In a day the cheese will be ready. How to make cheese so that it turns out salty? You can simply add salt or seasonings during the cooking process.

Chechil cheese - braid

Many people think that cooking is almost impossible. However, it is not. Chechil is an Armenian cheese that is prepared only by hand at home. It is based on cow's milk, which can be mixed with goat or sheep milk. Then it should turn sour. To speed up this process, you can add a little sour milk or whey. Then the milk is heated and pepsin is added at a temperature of 40 degrees (1 gram per 300 milliliters). Next, the mass is heated to 50 degrees, at which point pieces of cottage cheese begin to form. The flakes are gradually crushed, and a cheese ribbon is obtained. It is taken out and laid in length. Then this mass is cut into thin threads and braids are woven from them. After this, they are placed in a very salty solution (20 percent). Finished braids can be slightly smoked. The technology for producing cheese at home differs from the factory one, but such a product will be much tastier. Here's how to make a pigtail - a popular cheese and loved by many.

Afterword

Buying cheese in a store is not difficult, but if you make it yourself, you will get a more nutritious product. Use only the best products for this, fresh and fatty. Homemade cheese should be very soft and tasty. Additional ingredients will help transform the taste of the product and make it richer and more aromatic. It doesn't require many ingredients to prepare. Everything you need can be easily purchased at the market from farmers and in stores. The main thing is that the cooking technology is followed. This guarantees the quality and great taste of homemade cheese.

Chechil cheese: a Caucasian dietary product

Tight fibrous braids, woven from an elastic cheese mass, rightfully coexist on the shelves of gastronomic departments next to other cheeses. Chechil is a pickled cheese, the brother of Suluguni, but it has its own hardened character and individual delicate taste. The history of this product is interesting: it is produced in the Caucasus only by hand, drawing threads to the thickness of a hair. Chechil goes harmoniously with beer or wine, decorates a salad or sandwich, and adds a piquant appearance to a rich cheese plate.

What is Chechil

The Armenian national cheese, which consists of fibrous balls or braided braids, is chechil. Due to the fact that the cheese is simply tied into a bundle, all the nutritional juices and natural properties of dairy raw materials are retained in the product. Chechil refers to pickled cheeses, those that ripen in a salty solution, therefore they have a watery structure and a high salt content. The name of the cheese comes from a Caucasian word that also sounds like “chechil”, which means “confused”.

Chechil differs from suluguni, a close relative, by increased layering and a more pronounced fermented milk taste. There are many varieties of chechil: in addition to the traditional braid, it is produced in the form of spaghetti, ropes, straws, noodles, and balls. Quite often, this type of brine cheese is smoked, which adds piquancy to the finished product. This modern transformation of fibrous cheese appealed to beer lovers: the product is dry and salty, indispensable as an addition to a foamy drink.

How it is produced

Chechil is produced from fresh pasteurized cow's milk with reduced fat content, which is fermented using animal rennet. First, the milk is heated to 32 degrees, then pepsin is added. After a clot has formed, the fermented milk mixture is stirred and heated to 60 degrees. The resulting flakes are collected, separated from the whey, heavily salted and placed in the sun. Then they are stretched by hand on the table in the form of threads, wound into balls of five kilograms, or immediately braided into braids. The cheese is stored in a salty solution until fully ripened for almost a month. The maximum shelf life of cheese on sale is no more than seventy-five days. This is a living product, without preservatives, therefore it is subject to oxidation and rapid spoilage.

The copyright for the production of braids from chechil belongs to Karan Abrahamyan, head of the cheese workshop at the educational and research center of the Kyiv Agrarian University, Fastovsky district (Velikaya Skitynka village). The author has a patent for an invention and an industrial design, a certificate for a mark for goods and services. Initially, the braid was made from Italian Mozzarella cheese; much later, the braid began to be made from suluguni, and only then from chechil.

The benefits of Chechil cheese

The elastic, dense consistency of the cheese has a low fat content - up to 10%, which is why Chechil is classified as a dietary product. Due to its low fat content, this type of pickled cheese is used in diets. For example, Protasov’s diet is based on the consumption of raw vegetables and low-fat dairy products. At the same time, chechil has a fairly high moisture content - up to 60% and salt - 4-8%. Rich in calcium and vitamins, chechil is a truly healthy product. The energy value of one hundred grams of cheese ranges from 280 to 350 kcal.

This is interesting

If chechil is prepared correctly, following all the secrets of technology, its fibers can be pulled through the eye of a needle. This is how cheese is checked for quality. The capricious nature of the product is due to a special technology: if the raw materials are of poor quality, or if a non-professional hand touches the cheese production, Chechil simply will not work.

A variety of snacks are prepared from cheese and added to soups and salads. In the Caucasus, chechil is eaten fresh and white, washed down with homemade wine. The most common recipe is fried chechil. To do this, smoked fibers are cut horizontally and placed in a heated frying pan. As soon as an appetizing golden crust appears, the cheese is turned over and fried on the other side. This savory appetizer gives chechil a special tenderness and aroma.

Zhanna Pyatirikova