With the onset of autumn, celebrations are being held across Romania
to mark the descent of sheep herds from the mountains. Participants enjoy the
good folk music and traditional local products, such as the pastrami and
cheeses, which go extremely well with wine. One special product that holds
pride of place is the so-called branza de burduf, a local variety of soft
salty cheese which is matured in sheepskins or tree barks. The term burduf is
actually a reference to these sheepskins, which are carefully sown together in
the form of a sack. The sack is punctured in places to allow the buttermilk to
flow out of the fresh cheese.
Traditionally, the
pressed cheese is made up in the mountains, in sheepfolds, from sheep soft
cheese, or a mix of sheep and cow cheese. The cheese is mixed with salt and
battered into a paste, then placed into the sheepskin and left to mature for
two weeks. While stored in a cool place, the pressed cheese is suitable for
consumption for up to three months. It has a yellowish color and a fat texture
and can be cut into slices, like any other hard cheese without crumbling or
sticking to the knife. Industrial milk factories use a plastic cover as a
substitute to the sheepskin. Local trade fairs also sell pressed cheese in fir
tree bark, which gives the cheese a special kind of flavor. One piece of legend
has it that pressed cheese in fir tree bark used to be transported and hidden
more easily during the war.
Pressed cheese can
be served as an starter, used as filling for pies, served with hot polenta,
fried sausages, bacon and eggs or with bulz, a traditional Romanian mixture of
cheese, butter and polenta.
Cheese balls by now has become an internationally recognized dish.
Romanians often use pressed cheese as a substitute for the hard cheese used for
this recipe. You will need 250g of pressed cheese, an egg, a few tablespoons of
flour and some baking powder. Mix in all the ingredients and knead them into a
thick batter. Cut out small pieces from the batter and roll them into balls.
Fry the bolls into hot sunflower oil for a few minutes until they have formed a
rich golden brown crust. Serve immediately as a starter. Enjoy!