View source for Kashkaval

{{Short description|Semi-hard cheese from the Balkans}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox cheese
| name = ''Kashkaval''
| image = [[File:Kaschkawal Kashkaval кашкавал Balkankäse Sofia IMG 7649.JPG|frameless]]
| image_size = 
| othernames = 
| country = 
| region = 
| town = 
| source = [[Cattle|Cow]], [[sheep]], [[goat]]
| pasteurised = Traditionally, no
| texture = [[Types of cheese#Semi-hard cheese|Semi-hard]]
| fat = 
| protein = 
| dimensions = 
| weight = 
| aging = 
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}}

'''''Kashkaval'''''{{efn|{{langx|ro|cașcaval}} {{IPA|ro|kaʃkaˈval|}}; {{langx|bg|кашкавал}} {{IPA|bg|kɐʃkɐˈvaɫ|}}; {{langx|mk|кашкавал}} {{IPA|mk|kaʃkaˈvaɫ|}}; {{langx|sr|качкаваљ|kačkavalj}}; {{langx|sq|kaçkavall}}; {{langx|ru|кашкавал}}; {{langx|tr|kaşkaval}} or {{lang|tr|kaşar}}; {{langx|ar|قشقوان|qashqawān}}.}} is a type of [[cheese]] made from the milk of [[Cattle|cow]]s, [[sheep]], [[goat]]s, or a mixture thereof.<ref name="cheese.com">{{cite web | url=http://www.cheese.com/kashkaval/ | title=Kashkaval | website=cheese.com | access-date=26 May 2017}}</ref> In [[Turkey]], [[Albania]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Kosovo]], [[North Macedonia]], [[Romania]] and [[Serbia]], the term is often used to refer to all yellow cheeses (or even any cheese other than ''[[sirene]]''). In English-language menus in Bulgaria, ''kashkaval'' is translated as 'yellow cheese' (whereas ''[[sirene]]'' is usually translated as 'white cheese' or simply 'cheese').

==Etymology==
The name ''kashkaval'' possibly comes from the [[Italian cuisine|Italian]] ''[[caciocavallo]]''.

Another theory claims that it is related to the [[Aromanian language|Aromanian]] ''caș'', 'cheese', but the ''kaval'' part remains unexplained.<ref>{{cite journal | url=http://aas.bf.uni-lj.si/zootehnika/84-2004/PDF/84-2004-1-11-15.pdf | title=Traditional Manufacturing of Hard Cheese&nbsp;– Kachkaval on Stara Planina Mountain | author1=Zora Mijačević | author2=Snežana Bulajić | journal=Acta agriculturae slovenica | volume=84 | date=December 2004 | issue=1 | page=11 | archive-date=2011-09-26 | access-date=2012-02-13 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926212139/http://aas.bf.uni-lj.si/zootehnika/84-2004/PDF/84-2004-1-11-15.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Locality==

===Albania===
[[File:Albanian Kackavall Cheese.jpg|thumb|Albanian ''kaçkavall'']]
In [[Albania]], ''kaçkavall'' is the most popular type of cheese after ''djathë i bardhë'' (white cheese). It is considered a traditional Albanian cheese, and is widely used as a side dish. Some traditional restaurants will bring plates of raw or fried ''kaçkavall'' for no additional cost before the main dishes finish cooking. All dairy companies in Albania produce ''kaçkavall'' and mainly use cow's or sheep's milk, but some also use goat's milk, though not as frequently.

===Bulgaria===
[[File:Vacuum packed KASHKAVAL.jpg|thumb|Vacuum packed ''kashkaval'']]
In [[Bulgaria]], ''kashkaval vitosha'' is made from cow's milk, ''kashkaval balkan'' from ewe's milk, and ''kashkaval preslav'' is made from a mixture of the two.<ref name="cheese.com"/>

''Kashkaval'' is used in many breakfast pastries. A common dish with ''kashkaval'' is ''kashkavalka'', a little pastry containing ''kashkaval'' inside and on top. As in the other Balkan countries, ''kashkaval'' substitutes for other cheeses, especially in pizzas. A popular Bulgarian snack is ''princesa'' ({{langx|bg|принцеса|links=no}}; {{literally|princess}}), toast topped with ''kashkaval'' or with ground pork and ''kashkaval''.

===Romania and Moldova===
In [[Romania]] and [[Moldova]], ''cașcaval'' is used to refer to a number of types of yellow [[Medium-hard cheese|medium and semi hard cheeses]] made of sheep's or [[Dairy cattle|cow's milk]]. The best known varieties of ''cașcaval'' in Romania are ''dobrogea'' (from sheep's milk only), ''penteleu'' (from mix of sheep's and cow's milk), ''dalia'' and ''rucăr'' (both from cow's milk only). But the term is often used by extension as a generic name for all semi-hard yellow cheeses such as the Swiss [[Emmental (cheese)|Emmental]] cheese, the Dutch [[Gouda (cheese)|Gouda]] and the British [[Cheddar cheese|Cheddar]], or anything that looks similar to ''cașcaval''.

During the communist regime, because of the food shortages, Romanian housewives developed a technique for a homemade pressed cheese, similar to ''cașcaval'', made out of milk, ''[[smântână]]'', butter and eggs.<ref>Anghelescu, ''Șerban, in Anii 80 și bucureștenii'', Editura Paideia, Bucharest 2003.</ref> In [[Romanian cuisine]], a lot of dishes are made with ''cașcaval'', such as ''[[cașcaval pane]]'' or ''[[mămăligă]]''.

===North Macedonia===
[[File:Kashkaval-Galichki-Republik of Macedonia.jpg|thumb|Maturing ''kashkaval'' from North Macedonia]]
''Kashkaval'' cheese is very popular in [[North Macedonia]]. It is mostly made of cow's milk, however both a sheep's milk and a mixed (cow's and sheep's milk) variant are widely available. ''Kashkaval'' is also a synonym for any yellow cheese, to the extent that the word "cheese" mostly means white cheese such as [[feta]], while yellow cheeses such as Gouda or Emmental have the suffix ''kashkaval'' attached to them in everyday speech, as simply calling them cheese would be ludicrous, since they're not white cheeses.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

===Russia===
''Kashkaval'' cheese is popular in Russia.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}{{dubious|date=September 2022}} In addition to the Balkan and Italian products, there exists also a Russian version of ''kashkaval''.<ref>{{Citation|last=Carić|first=Marijana|date=1999|pages=263–279|publisher=Springer, Boston, MA|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-1-4615-2800-5_9|isbn=9780834213395|title=Cheese: Chemistry, Physics and Microbiology|chapter=Ripened Cheese Varieties Native to the Balkan Countries}}</ref>

===Serbia===
In Serbia, ''kačkavalj'' is traditionally a sheep milk hard cheese, and as such a protected brand of the city of [[Pirot]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Regions-and-countries/Serbia/Serbia-learning-about-cheeses-84756|title=Serbia, learning about cheeses|first=Osservatorio Balcani e|last=Caucaso|access-date=26 May 2017}}</ref> Other cheeses, made from a mix of cow and sheep milk, are sometimes also branded as ''kačkavalj'' but they cannot be defined as ''pirotski'' (of Pirot).

''Kačkavalj'' is one of the six traditional cheeses of Serbia. The production process (in Serbian) can be seen online,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i5tj_5pTm0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/6i5tj_5pTm0| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Tradicionalna izrada pirotskog kackavalja|last=Gale Nikolic|date=7 July 2009|access-date=26 May 2017|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and according to a TV show video clip,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qbIvur6TWQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/6qbIvur6TWQ| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Pirotski kackavalj|last=Boris Kostov|date=24 March 2012|access-date=26 May 2017|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> it was brought to Pirot in the 1810s with the [[Dalmatia]]n or [[Italians|Italian]] [[cheesemaker]]s who settled in then-[[Ottoman Empire]]; the cheese was distributed throughout the [[Balkans]] (specifically mentioned in the link are [[Salonica]] and [[Istanbul]]).

===Levant===
In the [[Levant]] ([[Syria]], [[Jordan]], [[Israel]], [[Palestine]], and [[Lebanon]]), ''qashqawān'' is widely used as a melting cheese, particularly in pastries. [[Hungary|Hungarian]]-made ''kashkaval'' is the most common type found in the region.<ref>{{cite web |title= Kashkaval Cheese |url= https://www.korostej.hu/products/kashkaval |work= Kőröstej}}</ref> In Israel, the Hungarian kashkaval is virtually unknown, and the domestically consumed kashkaval is produced locally from cow and sheep milk by both the large dairies ([[Tnuva]] under the brand name Gil'ad, [[:he:טרה (מחלבה)|Tara Dairy]] under the brand name Noam) and by boutique dairies, such as [[:he:מחלבות גד|Gad]] and [[Jacobs Dairy, Israel|Jacobs]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jacobs |title=Israeli kashkaval producer |url=https://www.jacobs-agadatlechem.com/ |access-date=April 13, 2025 |website=Jacobs Dairy, Israel}}</ref> Imported kashkaval is represented in Israeli grocery stores by the [[:he:וילי פוד השקעות|Euro Cheese]] brand.

===Turkey===
[[File:Kaskaval_peineri_-_Hunglinger_Von_Yngue_Andreas_Magnus_-_1800.jpg|thumb|right|''Kaşkaval'' seller in Istanbul in a 19th-century drawing]]
''Kaşkaval'' (Ottoman: ''penir-i kaskaval'') was a type of cheese consumed in Ottoman feasts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/761349|title=1720 Şenliği'nde Yemek Üzerinden İfade Edilen Sosyal Hiyerarşileri Anlamak|publisher=Osmanlı Araştırmaları / The Journal of Ottoman Studies, L (2017), 117-152|access-date=26 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008223734/https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/761349|archive-date=8 October 2022|url-status=live|language=tr}}</ref> [[Evliya Çelebi]]'s ''[[Seyahatnâme]]'' mentions that there at his time (17th century) in Istanbul 400 artisans produced different types of cheese: among them, cut cheese, [[teleme cheese]] and ''kaşkaval''. In the same book is also mentioned that ''kaşkaval'' cheese was produced in [[Çatalca]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/869795|title=EVLİYA ÇELEBİ SEYAHATNAMESİ'NDE ÇATALCA|publisher=Uluslararası Halkbilimi Araştırmaları Dergisi Geliş Tarihi:28.10.2019 Kabul Tarihi:11.11.2019|date=26 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026203058/https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/869795|archive-date=26 October 2022|url-status=live|language=tr}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Commons category-inline}}
{{Portal|Food}}
* [[List of stretch-curd cheeses]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Carić M. (1999) [https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2800-5_9 Ripened Cheese Varieties Native to the Balkan Countries]. In: Fox P.F. (eds) Cheese: Chemistry, Physics and Microbiology. Springer, Boston, MA.

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[[Category:Cow's-milk cheeses]]
[[Category:Sheep's-milk cheeses]]
[[Category:Stretched-curd cheeses]]
[[Category:Bulgarian cheeses]]
[[Category:Jewish cuisine]]
[[Category:Albanian cheeses]]
[[Category:Greek cuisine]]
[[Category:Albanian cuisine]]
[[Category:Israeli cheeses]]
[[Category:Macedonian cheeses]]
[[Category:Romanian cheeses]]
[[Category:Serbian cheeses]]
[[Category:Serbian cuisine]]
[[Category:Turkish cheeses]]