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Sudanese braided cheese in brine

braided cheese (Sudan)

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Sudanese braided cheese: curd ladled, salted, cut into strips and braided, then salted in brine and packed into tins filled with brine. A staple kept in brine rather than dried.

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Photograph of Sudanese braided cheese in brine.

A braided cheese kept in brine

Sudanese braided cheese is made from whole cow, goat or sheep milk, sometimes from reconstituted milk. The curd is salted at 10 to 15 per cent with black cumin, then heated gently to develop elasticity, cut into strips and braided.

The braided pieces are salted in brine and packed into tins filled with brine. The tin is the storage container, and the brine is what keeps the cheese in its moist form.

Sources for this section

Where it is eaten

The FAO account names the Eastern and Western provinces of Sudan. Production is at family level or in small cheese plants, and the cheese is sold on local markets as a staple.

Sources for this section

History

The FAO account records braided cheese in Sudan as a staple, made from family-level production and in small cheese plants and sold on local markets. The account does not date its origin.

Ingredients

Scaling: not established by the sources.

Whole cow, goat or sheep milksometimes reconstituted milk
Amount not stated
Rennetone tablet per 150 to 200 lb of milk, as the FAO account gives it
Amount not stated
Saltadded to the curd
10 %
10 to 15 per cent
Black cumin
Amount not stated
Brinestrength not stated
Amount not stated

Method

Risks and precautions
Brine strength and storage duration unknown

The FAO account does not state the brine strength or the storage duration of the tinned cheese.

Hazard source

Keep the pieces fully covered by brine in sealed tins; the brine strength is not stated

Control source

No validated brine strength or storage duration is recorded.

  1. Heat the milk to 30 to 40 degrees Celsius and add rennet. Coagulate for about five hours.
  2. Ladle the curd into cheesecloth on a wooden frame, then add salt at 10 to 15 per cent and black cumin.
  3. Heat the curd at a low temperature to develop elasticity, cut it into strips and braid them.
  4. Salt the pieces in brine, then pack them side by side and on top of each other into 10 to 15 kg tins.
  5. Fill the tins with brine. The brine strength and storage duration are not stated in the FAO account.

Conditions

Temperature30–40°C
Temperature controlIncubated

Places

Eastern and Western provinces, Sudan

Traditional preparation · Region evidence

Made at family level or in small cheese plants and sold on local markets; the FAO account names these two provinces.

See Eastern and Western provinces, Sudanon the mapLocation source 1 →

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