Kashkaval

Cașcaval
Country of origin	Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Turkey
Source of milk	Cow Sheep
Pasteurised	Traditionally, no
Texture	Semi hard
Certification	Romanian Cașcaval have PDO status since 2005.
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Kashkaval deriving from the Italian Caciocavallo, Romanian: cașcaval, Bulgarian: кашкавал, pronounced [kɐʃkɐˈvɑɫ], Macedonian: кашкавал, pronounced [kaʃkaˈval]; Turkish: kaşkaval, Serbian: качкаваљ or kačkavalj; Albanian : Kaçkavalli is a specific type of yellow cheese made of sheep milk . However, in Bulgaria, Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Romania, the term is often used to refer to all yellow cheeses (or even any cheese other than sirene). In English-language menus in Bulgaria, "кашкавал" is always translated as "yellow cheese" (whereas sirene is usually translated as "white cheese" or simply "cheese"). The taste of the kashkaval is sometimes compared to that of the United Kingdom's cheddar cheese, although variations exist.

Romania

In Romania, cașcaval (Romanian pronunciation: [kaʃkaˈval]) is used to refer to a number of types of yellow semi-hard cheeses made out of sheep's or cow's-milk. The term is often used by extension as a generic name for all semi-hard yellow cheeses such as the Swiss Emmental cheese, the Dutch Gouda and the British Cheddar, or anything that looks similar to the cașcaval.

The name Cașcaval comes from Latin caseus (cheese) and caballus (horse).

But another theory exists. Some Slovenians historians said the Aromanian population, also pejoratively called as Tzintars by Greeks, the original population of the Balkans, created the Cașcaval. As in Romanian, the word caș means in Aromanian (Tzintar) language cheese. In the Italian name Caciocavallo, the word cavallo (horse in English) remember the seasonal movement of this very old ethnic group, the Aromanians, with their horses and livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures (transhumance).

During the communist regime, because of the food shortages, Romanian housewives developed a technique for a homemade pressed cheese, similar to cașcaval, made out of milk, smântână, butter and eggs.

Several sorts of the Romanian cașcaval have PDO status in the European Union. As of 2005, the following types of cașcaval are PDO products of Romania:

• Cașcaval de Argeș
• Cașcaval de Bobâlna
• Cașcaval de Brădet
• Cașcaval de Carei
• Cașcaval de Ciuc
• Cașcaval de Covasna
• Cașcaval de Dej
• Cașcaval de Dobrogea
• Cașcaval de Dorna
• Cașcaval de Fetești
• Cașcaval de Harghita
• Cașcaval de Hârlău
• Cașcaval de Mateiaş
• Cașcaval de Moeciu
• Cașcaval de Napoca
• Cașcaval de Penteleu
• Cașcaval de Rarău
• Cașcaval de Râuşor
• Cașcaval de Rucăr
• Cașcaval de Satu Mare
• Cașcaval de Sibiu
• Cașcaval de Târnița
• Cașcaval de Vidraru

In Romanian cuisine, a lot of dishes are made with cașcaval, like caşcaval pane or mămăligă cu brânză.

Bulgaria

In Bulgaria kashkaval is a traditional food used in most of the breakfast pastry. One of the most common dishes with kashkaval is kashkavalka which is a little pastry containing kashkaval both inside and on the top of it. Like in the other Balkan countries it is a major substitute for all other kinds of cheese, especially in pizzas. Another popular Bulgarian dish is Princess (Bulgarian: принцеса) which is toasted bread slice with kashkaval and chubrica.

Middle East

Kashkaval cheese in the Republic of Macedonia

In Lebanon and Syria, this type of cheese is also called kashkawan (Arabic: قشقوان). It is very popular and is generally imported from countries such as Bulgaria, and is sometimes used as a topping for manakish.