Brânză de burduf Cheese

About Brânză de burduf Cheese

Brânză de burduf is a traditional Romanian sheep’s milk cheese, known for its strong flavor and soft, spreadable texture. It is typically aged in sheep's stomachs or bark tubes, which gives it a unique, slightly tangy taste. This cheese is often enjoyed spread on bread or as part of a hearty, rural meal.

Key Facts

Country of Origin	Romania
Specific Origin	Bucegi Mountains, Southern Carpathians
Milk Type	Sheep's milk (Turcana and Tiggae sheep)
Milk Treatment	Raw
Rind	Natural
Texture	Soft to firm and slightly flaky
Flavor	Spicy, sharp
Aroma	Woody
Colors	Yellowish-white
Forms	Traditionally packed into a "bellows" made from a cleaned sheep’s skin or stomach, aged in fir-tree bark
Age	3 weeks to 3 months
Rennet Type	Rennet

What is Brânză de burduf Cheese?

Brânză de Burduf is Romania's most esteemed cheese, protected and promoted by a Slow Food Presidium. Made traditionally in the Bucegi Mountains of the Southern Carpathians, it's crafted from the milk of local sheep breeds. The process starts with Caș, a fresh cheese, which transforms into Brânză de Burduf through salting and packing into a sheep's skin or stomach or a fir-tree bark cylinder.

The prized version ages in fir-tree bark, gaining pine-like flavors. It's known for enhancing dishes with its spicy, sharp flavor and creamy texture. Despite its rarity outside Transylvania, it's available in the US in plastic-wrapped versions.

This cheese, originating from sheep or buffalo milk, holds a strong flavor and a slightly soft texture. It's traditionally made by kneading and aging sweet Caș cheese in either a sheep's stomach, skin, or pine bark, each method imbuing the cheese with distinct flavors.

Specific to areas in Transylvania, Moldavia, and Wallachia, Brânză de Burduf varies by region. It is an artisan cheese known for its spicy, salty flavor and woody aroma. The cheese is made from May to July, when the pine bark used for aging is most flavorful, resulting in a rich, complex taste.