Sirene

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

For the mythical being, see Siren.

Sirene

No picture yet.

Country of origin

Bulgaria

Region, town

Thrace

Source of milk

Cow, sheep or goat

Pasteurized

Depends on variety

Texture

Depends on variety

Aging time

min. 3 months

Certification

N/A

Sirene (IPA: ['sirene]) (Bulgarian: сирене; Macedonian: сирење; Serbian/Croatian: сир/sir) is a type of white brine cheese made in Bulgaria and Republic of Macedonia, similar to feta. It is a very popular cheese not only in Bulgaria and Republic of Macedonia, but also in surrounding countries. It is usually made of cow's milk. It can be also made of sheep milk or a combination of milks. It is crumbly with a fat content of 40-45%. It is commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. It is used as a table cheese, as well as in salads and in baking.

[edit] Recipes

Sirene, together with yoghourt, is a national Bulgarian food. Every Bulgarian eats almost daily some sirene and yogourt in some form. Traditional dishes using sirene are:

Soups: Potato or vegetable soup with sirene (сиренява чорба).

Salads: Shopska salad with tomatoes, peppers, cuccumbers, onions and sirene. Ovcharska salad ("shepherd's salad") with the above mentioned vegetables, cheese, ham, boiled eggs and olives. Tomatoes with sirene is a traditional light salad during the summer.

Eggs: Bulgarians often eat fried eggs and omelettes with sirene. There is also a very popular kind of boiled eggs over mashed sirene with a souce of yogurt, garlic, persil and walnuts (яйца по панагюрски; eggs a la Panagyurishte).

Pasta and cornmeal: Bulgarians very often eat spaghetti with sirene and tomato sauce or ketchup. For breakfast makaroni or flat noodles (юфка) with sirene and sugar are popular. Kachamak (the local variant of cornmeal, polenta or the Romanian mămăligă) is always eaten with sirene.

Pastry: The traditional banitsa and other kinds of pastry are also made with sirene.

Stuffed peppers: Stuffed peppers are more often made with rice filling but there is a very popular recipe with sirene-and-eggs filling.

[edit] Sirene in other countries

Sirene originated on the Balkan peninsula, in a region called Trakia (Thrace), today a part of southern Bulgaria. Bulgarians also refer to sirene as "white brine sirene" (Bulgarian: "бяло саламурено сирене"). It was originally made with goat's milk, but the predominant variation today is made with cow milk.

The word "feta" originated in Italy, but feta cheese is commonly thought to be a Greek cheese. It has been promoted and patented this way, although different types of feta cheese are made in many different countries.

In Romania sirene is called brănză and in Russia - брынза.

In Turkey sirene is called beyaz peynir.

In Israel a hugely popular style of white brine cheese is called "bulgarit" (בולגרית) - literally, "Bulgarian".