Top 5 Romanian Cow's Milk Cheeses

Telemea de Ibanesti is a traditional cheese made in the Gurghiu valley from cow's or sheep's milk. Its texture is quite wet and crumbly because the block-shaped cheese is placed in brine during the production. Telemea is white to yellowish-white in color and has a sweet, sour, creamy, and salty flavor that gets more intense as the cheese ages. The maturation process lasts for a minimum of 20 days. These tasty blocks of cheese are sold in vacuum-sealed bags or drums to preserve the shape and flavor. Due to the fact that it is similar to feta cheese, Telemea is used in salads, snacks, and omelets, and it’s typically paired with white wines.Expand

Cascaval afumat is a Romanian cheese made from cow's milk. It's shaped into wheels and blocks, but cascaval afumat can also be braided. The name of this cheese means smoked cascaval. The texture is semi-soft and rubbery, while the flavors are smoky and slightly bitter. It's recommended to serve it with garlic sausages on crusty bread.Expand

Năsal is a traditional cheese that's named after a village in Cluj, Transylvania. The soft and creamy cheese is made from cow's milk, and it has been smear-ripened in caves since the Middle Ages. The cave features the Brevibacterium linens bacteria which grows on the rind, giving the cheese a strong, deep, and earthy flavor that's pretty much impossible to recreate anywhere else. The production of Năsal is very limited. It is recommended to serve it with grapes, nuts, onions, or meat, and pair it with a Romanian dry red wine such as Fetească Neagră.Expand

Caș is a traditional fresh cheese made from raw cow's or sheep's milk. The milk is curdled with rennet, and it's later drained to separate the whey. This semi-soft cheese is usually unsalted (or lightly salted) and white in color. In texture, it is smooth and almost squeaky. The flavors are fresh and slightly acidic. Caș is used to make other types of cheeses such as Brânză de burduf and Cașcaval, and if it's stored in brine, after 2-3 weeks it turns into Telemea. The cheese is usually eaten for breakfast with eggs, but it can also be used in pies or shredded and added to salads.Expand

Branza lui Voda is a Romanian cheese produced from pasteurized cow's milk, salt, rennet, and lactic cultures. Each wheel of cheese is handmade according to old artisanal cheesemaking techniques. In the past, the cheese was served to local rulers and nobility, which is how it got its name, meaning King's Cheese. It comes in three varieties – Red Collar, with a hay-like aroma and a dense texture, Blue Collar, with a sweet and tangy flavor and a hay-like aroma, and White Collar, with an open and creamy texture and a flavor that's sweet, fruity, and floral. The cheeses vary from semi-hard to hard, depending on the aging duration. Between 2016 and 2019, Branza lui Voda has been awarded two Golds and two Silvers at the International Cheese Awards in Nantwich.Expand