Characteristics and method of making Kuflu peynir. Chemical composition and calorie content, useful and harmful properties. Application in cooking, what dishes are added, what to look for when buying.
Kuflu peinir is a Turkish blue cheese, analogous to Roquefort, for the manufacture of which sheep milk is used. The texture is soft, delicate, with numerous eyes, more like pores on bread; color - milky-creamy, with random blotches of emerald green mold; smell - cheesy, pronounced sheep. Interestingly, the taste of a product from different regions can differ in richness, spice and salinity. It is made in the form of flattened cylinders weighing 1.5-4 kg. The variety melts easily. Edible crust - natural, thin, gray, shiny.
How is Kuflu Peynir made?
The production of Kuflu peynir is seasonal - spring-summer, since the sheep are not milked all year round. Collect several milk yields from different animals, allow the milk to sour on its own, then add a new one until the required amount of raw materials is collected. Pasteurization is not carried out.
Peinir Kuflu is prepared like the French famous blue Roquefort, but only with some peculiarities. For each batch, not only the cheese sourdough is made separately, but also the mold. They mix rye and wheat flour, a little sour sheep's milk and wait for the noble emerald-blue penicillin mold to grow. Extraneous fungal cultures are destroyed with vinegar. Then the substance is mixed with cheese yeast (fermented dried abomasum).
The mixture is poured into a partially skimmed raw material - naturally sour sheep's milk. Fat must be removed as it stimulates the growth of natural mold, which produces aflatoxins that are deadly to humans.
When making Kuflu peynir, slightly warmed milk with sourdough is left for 40-50 minutes to form a dense curd curd. It is broken into small pieces no more than 1 cm in diameter and mixed 2-3 times until the cheese grains become the size of rice grains with rounded edges. Lumps should not stick together. They are removed with a slotted spoon and transferred to molds covered with cheesecloth for self-pressing.
After 6-8 hours, the head is rubbed with dry salt on all sides, left for 2-3 hours on a rack in the same humid room where the cheese is boiled. Drying is not carried out in order not to suppress the activity of fungal cultures. Salting is repeated 3-4 times.
Next, they make Kuflu peynier like Roquefort - the heads are pierced with a sterile knitting needle. It is necessary to provide a constant flow of air, otherwise penicillin spores will not develop. For ripening, the cheese is left for 1, 5 months in cool dark caves of natural origin.
I must say that, unlike the French blue "colleague", this product looks unappetizing. It is loose, streaks and inclusions of mold are located chaotically, the color is "dirty". If you break it into pieces, then you might think that this loose mass with an unpleasant sour smell is moldy cottage cheese.
Composition and calorie content of Kuflu cheese
As already mentioned, each region of Turkey has its own blue cheese recipes. The feedstock is similar, but its fat content changes. If the cream is skimmed only from the last fresh milk yield, then the fat content on dry matter will be 55-60%, when made from whey - 35-40%.
The calorie content of Kuflu cheese is 330-362 kcal per 100 g, of which:
- Proteins - 21.4 g;
- Fats - 28, 74 g;
- Carbohydrates - 2.34 g;
- Water - 42, 41 g.
Vitamins per 100 g:
- Thiamine - 0.029 mg;
- Riboflavin - 0.382 mg;
- Niacin - 1.016 mg;
- Pantothenic acid - 1, 729 mg;
- Vitamin B6 - 0.166 mg;
- Folic acid - 36 mcg;
- Choline - 15.4 mg;
- Vitamin B12 - 1.22 mcg;
- Vitamin A - 198 mcg;
- Retinol - 192 mcg;
- Beta carotene - 74 mcg;
- Vitamin E - 0.25 mg;
- Vitamin K - 2.4 mcg;
- Vitamin D (D2 + D3) - 0.5 mcg.
Minerals per 100 g:
- Calcium - 528 mg;
- Iron - 0.31 mg;
- Magnesium - 23 mg;
- Phosphorus - 387 mg;
- Potassium - 256 mg;
- Sodium - 1146 mg;
- Zinc - 2.66 mg;
- Copper - 0.04 mg;
- Manganese - 0, 009 mg;
- Selenium - 14.5 mcg
Fats per 100 g:
- Saturated fatty acids - 18, 669 g;
- Monounsaturated fatty acids - 7, 778 g;
- Polyunsaturated fatty acids - 0.8 g;
- Cholesterol 75 mg
100 g of Kuflu Peinir cheese fill 44-55% of the adult's need for animal fat, 40-43% for protein and 1% for carbohydrates. But in such quantities, the product is not eaten. Nutritionists recommend introducing a piece about the size of a matchbox into the daily diet. The calorie content of such a portion of Kuflu cheese made from whey is 91 kcal per 100 g, from sheep's milk, skimmed by a quarter - 137 kcal.
You can neutralize such a number of calories with the help of active training. You can choose the type of activity yourself. 15-22 minutes of vigorous walking, 7-10 minutes of running, 13-19 minutes of cycling or 9-14 minutes of swimming, and no body fat will form.
Useful properties of Kyuflu Peynir
The cheese pulp contains a high amount of nutrients that accelerate the multiplication of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, which are responsible for general immunity. This flora suppresses pathogenic microorganisms invading the intestines with food, improves digestion, relieves constipation and diarrhea, and normalizes peristalsis.
Stagnant processes do not occur, the frequency of development of gastroreflux disease decreases. You don't have to use chewing gum to get rid of bad breath.
In addition, the spicy and salty taste of Kyflu Peinir stimulates the sensitive taste buds in the mouth. Signals indicating pleasure go to the brain. Serotonin, a hormone responsible for mood, is injected into the bloodstream. It becomes easy to cope with emotional changes, to perceive the unpleasant moments that occur during the day. It’s even easier to fall asleep.
But these are not the only benefits of Kyflu Peinir. The impulses transmitted to the brain increase the production of saliva and shift the acid-base balance towards the acidic side. The microbiological environment in the oral cavity becomes unfavorable for the development of pathogenic bacteria. The frequency of exacerbations of chronic bacterial processes - tonsillitis and pharyngitis decreases, caries, periodontitis and stomatitis occur less often.
The benefits of Kuflu Peinier are enhanced by mold. It gives the product an antiseptic and anesthetic effect, albeit mild. Due to this composition, the variety is recommended to be introduced into the diet of patients who are struggling with tuberculosis or other diseases that affect the respiratory system.
Sheep cheese is rich in calcium. It strengthens the skeletal system, stimulates its growth and accelerates regeneration. Thanks to phosphorus, the energy reserve increases, the overall tone does not decrease. Potassium normalizes heart rate, reduces permeability and strengthens vascular walls. B vitamins have a beneficial effect on the peripheral and central nervous system, improve coordination, and facilitate memorization.
Contraindications and harm to Kuflu Peinir
The slightest violation of the conditions of manufacture or transportation - and moldy cheese becomes dangerous to use. Black or red mold begins to actively multiply in it, causing intoxication.
The use of Kuflu Peinir is harmful to young children, pregnant women, lactating women and people with diseases of the digestive tract or a tendency to eating disorders. If the immunity is unstable, then a product with mold can provoke the development of dysbiosis and signs of intoxication - nausea, vomiting, dizziness, diarrhea.
The negative effect on the body is caused by the high salt content. You should stop using Kuflu peynir for inflammatory diseases of the urinary system, frequent exacerbation of gout attacks or hypertension, with increased blood viscosity. Salt binds water, reduces the rate of blood flow, increases the risk of thrombus formation, stimulates the development of varicose veins and thrombophlebitis. It is worth considering whether or not to introduce Kyflu into the diet, with a tendency to edema.
Despite the low allergenicity of sheep's milk, you should be very careful to get acquainted with the new taste - it is better to start eating with a small piece. Development of intolerance is possible. Allergy to penicillin is an absolute contraindication to the introduction of Kuflu Peinir into the diet. Despite the low concentration of Penicillium Candidum, people who cannot tolerate it may develop eating disorders, vomiting, and diarrhea.
