Çökelek Cheese along the Mediterranean
Çökelek cheese is an unsalted and light cheese that made from yoghurt and comes from different parts of Turkey's Mediterranean region.
It's excellent in pastries and is often seasoned to give in an extra bit of flavor, or if it's on it's own it often is served with a drizzle of olive oil.
Tulum Cheese from Çorum
Tulum cheese produced in Kargı in the province of Çorum along the Black Sea is slightly more conventional than Bergama Tulum.
It can be made of cow, sheep or goat's milk (or more often than not a mixture thereof) and is not salted in the way Bergama Tulum is, meaning it's a little more crumbly and a little sharper.
Otlu Peynir (Herbed Cheese) from Van
As the name suggests, the cheese isn't doing all the work with Van herbed cheese.
The cheese itself is typically made from either sheep or cow's milk and is semi-hard with a salty flavor, but the majority of the flavor comes from the incredible amount of herbs that are put in, many of them local and endemic to the Van region of Turkey.
Koleti Cheese from Trabzon
Koleti cheese is local to the Black Sea region of Turkey and is particularly famous for its use in the dish of Mıhlama.
Mıhlama is made by mixing cornmeal and either butter or clotted cream with the cheese for an incredibly rich, cheesy dish that's cooked slowly together so the cheese is stringy and melted and served piping hot.
Kaşar Cheese from Kars
Kaşar cheese, or eski kaşar (literally old kaşar) as the matured version is known, is perhaps the cheese that is most widely used in foods compared with eaten on its own.
It has a buttery and tangy flavor that makes it suitable to eat with any meal. When aged over 6 months, as it usually is in the northeastern region of Kars, it develops peppery notes that go incredibly well with just about anything.
