Traditional Cheeses of the Aegean Region in Turkey

Cheese production has much developed in the Aegean Region, where the Anatolian lands meet the sea. The milk used to make cheese is obtained from the animals that give birth in February and March. In mountainous areas and highlands, this period also covers April and May, and, therefore, goat milk becomes important. Especially, fatty milk is collected in the spring season, after the calves and lambs are born. During this period, ewe’s milk is very fatty and used in combination with cow’s milk. Therefore, ewe’s milk is preferred for cheese production during the spring season. Small ruminants are of importance in the Inner Western Anatolia. Today, technological applications in cheese production, as is the case in many areas, have diversified the cheese production with the modernization of traditionalism. As in the Aegean Region, in many countries, there are numerous cheese types for which traditional production is still preferred and offered to the world market. The factors that affect the taste of cheese range from the properties of grass growing at a different flora where the animal from which the milk was obtained grazed, to production technique, sanitation and hygiene. Unfortunately, it has become harder to find local cheeses in markets with their genuine traditional tastes. At this point, the necessity of reflecting the local tastes obtained through traditional production methods should not be overlooked while making a transition in production techniques, from traditional to modern. Locally the most popular cheese types produced in the Aegean Region are İzmir Tulum Cheese, Sepet Cheese, Kirlihanım Cheese, Kopanesti Cheese, Armola Cheese, Lor Cheese, Tire Çamur Cheese, Aydın Çörekotlu Cheese, Çoban Cheese, Köy Cheese, and Peppered Lor.

Keywords: Aegean region, Armola, İzmir Tulum cheese, Kopanesti, Turkish local cheeses.