Kirklareli White Cheese Product Description and Distinctive Features: Kırklareli White Cheese has been produced since the 18th century. The production of the product began on Hıdırellez day, an important day in the folk calendar, during the early years. On Hıdırellez day, producers would pour their milk for free to the dairy farms that produce cheese, intending to take the first step towards abundance and prosperity. Dairy farms would use this milk to produce white cheese curd, and they would distribute höşmerim dessert made from this curd to the public. The next day, the dairy farms would start the cheese production. The main reasons for the continuation of production from the 18th century to the present are the cheese processing mastery that has been passed down through the years, the presence of meadows in the relevant geography, and climatic conditions. The natural vegetation resulting from the geographical structure and climatic conditions, combined with the ongoing mastery, provides distinctive features to Kırklareli White Cheese due to variations in milk. Kırklareli White Cheese is obtained from natural cow rennet. Kırklareli White Cheese is produced using only cow's milk or a combination of 30%-45% sheep's milk, 25%-40% goat's milk, and 15%-30% cow's milk. The produced cheese is matured for a minimum of 6 months. The milk used in the production of the product is obtained from sheep, goats, and cows raised in Kırklareli, fed with dry herbs grown in the meadows and pastures of the province. The roughage needs of the animals are met from the meadows of the province. The natural vegetation in the meadows affects the characteristics of the milk, the raw material of white cheese. Production Method: Kırklareli White Cheese is produced from the milk of cows, sheep, and goats grazing in the meadows of Kırklareli province, either as a blend or solely from cow's milk. The proportions of milk used in the production of paçal white cheese are 30%-45% sheep, 25%-40% goat, and 15%-30% cow's milk. Milk with acidity above pH 6.40, a minimum dry matter content of 12%, and free from antibiotics or preservatives is utilized. Cow, sheep, and goat milks are brought to the facility in separate tanks, maintaining the cold chain. During the pasteurization of the milk, the temperature is 63°C from November to March and 65°C from April to October. Generally, double-walled steam cooking tanks are used for milk pasteurization. Facilities employing plate pasteurizers use open steam boilers to maintain the desired temperature for the required time. Pasteurized milks are cooled to 1-2°C above the fermentation temperature of 50°C. If paçal cheese is to be produced, the milks are placed in fermentation tanks as paçal; if produced only from cow's milk, only cow's milk is used. The fermentation tanks are equipped with a filtering cloth at the bottom and a food-grade nylon tarpaulin on top of it. The milk in the tanks undergoes fermentation, curdling, pressing, cutting, and salting processes, resulting in the formation of white cheese molds measuring 8x8x11 cm. Once the cheese molds are obtained, a 90-minute yeast test is conducted after filling the cheese tanks with milk. The required amount of yeast for curd maturity is determined. The identified yeast amount is diluted with 10 times water and slowly added to the tank, stirring continuously. Fermentation temperatures range from 32-35°C in winter and 30-32°C in summer. Rennet from cow in a strength of 1/10,000-15,000 is used as the yeast. Cutting maturity is reached, and the curd is broken into 1 cm3 pieces with stainless steel wire cutting knives, both longitudinally and transversely. After breaking the curd, the resulting curd is thoroughly mixed to allow settling, and the whey rises to the top. It is left to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Once the curd has settled to the bottom, the nylon tarpaulin is inverted, and the whey is transferred to the bottom filtering cloth (strainer). A total of 3 presses are applied in the production. In the first press, the edges of the strainer cloth are gathered, secured with stainless steel rods, and side press bars are placed. The valve of the tank is opened, allowing the whey to be removed for a while. Then, the ends of the strainer cloth are narrowed, pressed again, leveled, and upper press plates are placed. The upper press plate of the tank, which is 300 cm long and 90 cm wide, is one meter long and three in total. Each press plate is loaded with approximately 80 kg of weight. After approximately 30-45 minutes of pressing, the weights and press plates are removed, and the strainer cloths are opened. To facilitate the removal of whey, the curd is manually cracked during cutting maturity. After these processes, the second press is applied. In the second press, the strainer cloth is compressed again, and press plates and weights are placed. The first cracking stage is then performed during the second cracking. After the second cracking, about half of the weights on the press plates are removed, and the third and final pressing is carried out. After the last press and breaking of the curd, the curd reaches the cutting maturity and hardness after 4-5 hours. The curd reaching the cutting maturity is cut into molds of 8x8x11 cm using cheese rulers. The cut white cheeses are filled into cheese cans with capacities of 3 kg, 5 kg, and 18 kg. Inside the tank, after the mold cutting is done, the side press bars are removed, and the outlet valves of the tanks are closed. Previously prepared 14-16 bome saltwater, pasteurized at 80-85°C before use, is filled until the molds in the tanks are submerged. The strainer cloth is removed, and the cheese molds are left in brine at an average temperature of 26-28°C in a room for about 8-10 hours. After salting in brine, the cheese molds are removed from the tanks. The collected cheese molds are placed in 18 kg cheese cans in two rows with a 2/3 filling, 5 kg cans with a 1/2 filling using four molds, and 3 kg cans with a 1/1 filling using four molds. The acidity of the cheeses is allowed to reach a pH value of 4.90-5.00 in maturing rooms at 24-26°C for the designated primary maturation period (2-3 days). During the primary maturation period, the whey drained from the cheeses is emptied from the cans at 12-hour intervals. Upon completion of the primary maturation, the last row of cheese is placed in the 18 kg cans with a 3/3 filling using a total of 27 molds, in 5 kg cans with a 2/2 filling using a total of 8 molds, and for the 3 kg cans, filling is done with the 4 molds used during the primary maturation. The height of the cheese molds is adjusted to be approximately 0.5-1 cm above the can height to prevent loss due to hardening during the designated main maturation period of at least 6 months. Food-grade nylon is placed between the rows, and pulling bands are added to 1-2 molds in each row. 6-7 bome saltwater is poured into the cans to overflow and sealed in a press machine.After being matured for at least 6 months at 4±2°C, the product is offered for sale in four different ways: packaged in a single cheese mold, in 3 kg, 5 kg, or 18 kg cans.