Brânză de oi

Brânză de oi, sheep's cheese, is one of the oldest and most valued products of Moldova's traditional gastronomy, made from the milk of sheep kept at the summer fold. It has a pronounced, slightly salty aroma and a texture that ranges from creamy and soft to firm, depending on the method of preparation and the length of maturation. For village dwellers it represents not only a staple food but also a direct link with shepherding, one of the oldest occupations of the people.

How it is made

Freshly milked sheep's milk is set with natural rennet, forming a dense mass called caș. This is drained of whey in cloth presses, then salted and worked. Part of the caș is eaten fresh, as it is, while the rest is set to mature. The best-known keeping method is cheese held in a burduf (a sheep's stomach or fir bark) or in wooden tubs, where it takes on a more intense taste and a firm consistency. In some areas the cheese is placed in brine, becoming telemea, saltier and better suited to long keeping.

At the sheepfold, the shepherds also make jintiță, urdă (whey cheese) and fresh sweet caș, each with its role in the diet of the uplands and the plains. Urdă, obtained by boiling the remaining whey, is a sweeter and finer product, much sought after for filling plăcinte.

When it is eaten and its cultural role

Brânză de oi is found on Moldovan tables all year round, but is indispensable in making plăcinte, mămăligă with cheese and sour cream, and numerous starters. The combination of hot mămăligă, sheep's cheese and a spoonful of sour cream is considered by many the emblem of the native rustic kitchen. The cheese also goes into the filling of colțunași, cheese plăcinte and cabbage pastries.

Besides its culinary value, brânză de oi carries a strong symbolic charge. It appears at celebration meals, at weddings and memorial feasts, and also at village markets where cooks sell their production. The quality of the cheese is often a matter of pride for each household, the recipes and secrets of preparation being handed down from generation to generation. Brânză de oi thus remains a landmark of gastronomic identity and a product that keeps Moldova's pastoral tradition alive.