Telemea is one of the most popular Romanian cheeses. It is a fresh type of cheese, salty, made from different types of
milk. There is cow milk telemea, sheep milk telemea, goat milk telemea, even buffalo milk telemea - which is a
specialty. Some telemea cheeses are made from a combination of milk, most often cow and goat, or cow and sheep.
You can easily buy telemea cheese from the supermarket, but the best is still made by local producers and sold in
farmers markets around Romania. When you buy cheese in the farmers market, you will notice that it is kept inside
big barrels, in its own brine. You can always taste the cheese in the farmers market to see if you like it.
The telemea cheese has a salty taste and is similar to feta, but with a crumblier texture. In the market, there are
never two producers that make the same cheese, because everyone has their own recipes for the brine. If the cheese
is too salty, you can put it in water at home to reduce the amount of salt.
Telemea is usually eaten on its own, alongside a breakfast or lunch spread with other products such as bell peppers,
tomatoes, onions, and bread with zacusca. It is also used in traditional Romanian recipes such as cheese pies or
pancakes with cheese and dill.
Branza de burduf is an odd one. This Romanian cheese is made from unpasteurized sheep’s milk and it’s aged inside the
animal’s stomach to mature. It has a salty taste and a very creamy texture. To eat it, you have to scoop out the
cheese from inside its packaging.
Another way to age the burduf cheese, which adds a lot of flavor to it, is in tubes made from fir bark rather than
the sheep’s stomach. The cheese is aged for 2-3 months to infuse with that woody, spicy aroma of the bark.
These days, when you buy the cheese from the supermarket, you will find it sold inside plastic tubes rather than a
sheep’s stomach. But in my opinion, the best place to buy burduf cheese is the farmer markets around Transylvania.
This cheese is typical from Transylvania, where it is eaten as it is, spread on bread, or in recipes such as polenta
with cheese, omelettes, or pies with cheese and spinach.
Cascaval is the only Romanian aged semi-hard cheese. It is made from unpasteurized cow and/or sheep milk and has a
lovely, smooth texture. It has a nutty taste and is one of the most popular cheeses in Romania.
You may think that the cascaval is similar to cheddar cheese, but it is not, other than in appearance. The taste,
the texture, and the entire experience of eating cascaval is very different. The best cascaval has a certain
creaminess, a nutty flavor, and a very soft texture. If the cascaval is too hard or too salty, I don’t like it.
Cascaval is the cheese used to make fried cheese because of its high melting point. The fried cheese is a delight,
with a crunchy taste and a fantastic stretchy middle - similar to baked mozzarella but with plenty of flavor.
Besides the classic six months old aged cascaval, in Romania you will also find smoked cascaval. This is a delight
and a local specialty. It usually comes braided and has a beautiful golden color.
Cas is a very young cheese that stands at the base of telemea and cascaval. It is made by adding rennet to the milk
and separating the liquid from the whey. This is a soft cheese with a smooth texture and a very mild taste.
Usually, you will only find cas in the farmers market, not in the supermarket. If the cas is aged, it will turn into
a different type of cheese.
The best way to eat cas is fresh, alongside a nice breakfast spread. It’s a great, light cheese to be enjoyed in
summer when it’s very hot in Romania.