🧀 Chechil

Chechil is an Armenian brined pasta filata cheese of cow's milk, stretched into thin strings and braided into a knot. Armenia, especially the Shirak region, is considered its home; today this braided string cheese is also made elsewhere in the Caucasus and Eastern Europe.

The milk is set with rennet, the curd is left until it reaches the right acidity and then dipped into hot water. The softened mass becomes elastic, and the cheesemaker pulls it into long thin strings, much as for suluguni or mozzarella. The strings are cooled, kept in brine and then wound into a figure eight or braided. That is why chechil belongs both to Pasta filata cheeses and to Brined cheeses.

The taste is salty, milky and slightly tangy; the texture is fibrous and springy, and the strings peel apart easily. Smoked chechil is golden brown with a smoky aroma.

Chechil is eaten as a snack with beer or wine and added to salads and sandwiches. It can be soaked in water or milk before serving to reduce the salt. Keep it in the fridge, tightly wrapped or in brine.

Chechil or mozzarella, suluguni? All three are made by the pasta filata method: the curd is dipped into hot water until it turns elastic and is then pulled by hand. Chechil is pulled into long thin strings, which are cooled, kept in brine and then wound into a figure eight or braided, so it counts both as a pasta filata cheese and as a brined one. The result is salty, milky and slightly tangy, with a fibrous, springy texture, and the strings peel apart easily. Smoked chechil is the same cheese, only golden brown with a smoky aroma.

Look for the name “Chechil” and a braided knot or figure eight of thin strings, sold in brine or tightly wrapped. A traditional cheese contains only milk, starter culture, rennet and salt, so read the ingredient list. The smoked kind is golden brown. Chechil is sold as a brined cheese or string cheese at a supermarket cheese counter, a delicatessen or an East European or Caucasian grocery.

Why it matters to you: chechil is a handy snack you can pull apart by hand. Check the label: traditional cheese contains only milk, starter culture, rennet and salt.