Kashkaval

Kashkaval is a semi-hard, yellow cheese derived from the Italian cheese "Caciocavallo". It is popular in Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean region.

Kashkaval, made from cow's milk, is known as Kashkaval Vitosha, while a cheese made from ewe's milk is called Kashkaval Balkan. Kashkaval Preslav is the name given to the cheese made from a mixture of ewe's and cow's milk. Kashkaval is a generic term for all kinds of yellow cheeses in Romania, Bulgaria, and Macedonia. This cheese is also found in Hungary, Croatia, and Turkey. The Romanians call this cheese Cascaval, the Greeks Kasseri, while the Turkish prefer to interpret it as Ksara.

The cheese is allowed to age for six months, during which it develops a piquant, spicy and somewhat salty taste with a slight hint of olive oil. Due to its similarity in taste with the United Kingdom's cheddar cheese, it is famously called the "Cheddar cheese of the Balkans". Kashkaval belongs to the family of pasta filata cheese made by giving the curd a hot bath during production.

The semi-hard texture of this table cheese makes it suitable for grilling and grating. It is used in salads, appetizers, pizzas, and lasagna.