Telemea de Sibiu

Appearance & taste

Telemea de Sibiu is sold in cuboid blocks with a square or rectangular base, 12 to 14 cm high and weighing 0.3 to 3 kg. The surface is smooth and without rind; impressions of the cheesecloth may be visible. The cheese is white throughout, compact and dense, occasionally with small openings and holes, and can easily be broken into pieces without crumbling.

Fresh Telemea tastes mild, acidic and moderately salty, with a faint aroma of sheep’s milk and notes of ripe wild grasses and hay. Ripened Telemea, at least 21 days old, is more intense, slightly acidic and salty, with a mild aftertaste; the sheep note slightly predominates without overpowering the other aromas. Fresh cheese contains at least 47 % fat in dry matter, ripened cheese at least 50 %.

Production

The sheep are kept in Sibiu county and, depending on the weather, graze on grassland on 200 to 230 days from April to November. In winter they are given green fodder and unfermented hay from the area.

Only freshly milked, unpasteurised raw sheep’s milk is processed. It is checked, filtered and warmed in a vat to 28 to 30 °C while being stirred by hand in circles in one direction. Then rennet is added, the milk is stirred for one to two minutes alternately in both directions, and it coagulates for 45 to 60 minutes. The right point of coagulation is recognised by the “Baci”, the shepherd responsible for making the cheese.

With a special scoop, the “Telemea spoon”, the curd is lifted out of the vat in slices 2 to 3 cm thick, laid in overlapping layers on a cheesecloth and slowly cut into strips 3 to 4 cm wide with a round-tipped knife so that it does not crumble. This is repeated twice. Then the blocks, 12 to 14 cm high, are pressed for 30 to 35 minutes. The curd is washed with salt water, and the cheese ripens in brine and is stored in it. Keeping of the animals, milk production, cheesemaking and ripening take place in the area.

Origin & history

The area is Sibiu county, which lies largely at altitudes between 250 and 2,500 m, with a temperate continental climate and natural grassland with a rich flora. The specification attributes the taste to terpenes and sesquiterpenes from plants that the sheep eat, such as grasses, crucifers, umbellifers and composites; their presence in the cheese reflects the area in which the animals have grazed.

The profession of Baci is highly respected in the area, which, according to the specification, shows an old, historically documented tradition. Cheesemaking there has a centuries-old tradition, and according to the specification, the production techniques have remained unchanged. Every year festivals centred on sheep farming and cheese are held in the area, such as the “Sus pe muntele din Jina” festival, a cheese and brandy festival and the “Bujorul de Munte” festival.