{"id":21837,"date":"2021-06-30T15:13:18","date_gmt":"2021-06-30T15:13:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jazairhope.org\/?p=21837"},"modified":"2021-06-30T15:13:18","modified_gmt":"2021-06-30T15:13:18","slug":"traditional-dairy-products-in-algeria-case-of-klila-cheese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jazairhope.org\/en\/traditional-dairy-products-in-algeria-case-of-klila-cheese\/","title":{"rendered":"Traditional dairy products in Algeria: case of Klila cheese"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: journalofethnicfoods.biomedcentral.com<\/p>\n

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The cheese\u00a0Klila<\/i>\u00a0occupies a very important socio-economic place established in the rural and peri-urban environment. It is a fermented cheese produced empirically in several regions of Algeria. It is the most popular traditional cheese and its artisanal manufacturing process is still in use today. The processing consists of moderate heating of \u201cLben<\/i>\u201d (described a little farther) until it becomes curdled, and then drained in muslin. The cheese obtained is consumed as it stands, fresh, or after drying. When dried, it is used as an ingredient after its rehydration in traditional culinary preparations.<\/p>\n

In this review, we expose the main categories of traditional Algerian dairy products; we focus mainly on the traditional\u00a0Klila<\/i>\u00a0cheese, its history, origin, and different manufacturing stages. We recall the different consumption modes and incorporation of\u00a0Klila<\/i>\u00a0cheese in the culinary preparations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Introduction<\/h2>\n
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In Algeria, the consumption of dairy products is an old tradition linked to livestock farming, since dairy products are made by means of ancient artisanal processes, using milk or mixtures of milk from different species . There is a wide variety of artisanal dairy products (from the \u201cterroir<\/i>\u201d in French), their denomination as well as their manufacturing process differing from one region to another. These products also differ in their taste and their consistency.<\/p>\n

\u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d is a fermented cheese produced empirically in several regions of Algeria. It is the most popular traditional cheese and its artisanal manufacturing process is still in use today . The processing consists of moderate heating of \u201cLben<\/i>\u201d (described a little farther) until it becomes curdled, and then drained in muslin. The cheese obtained is consumed as it stands, fresh, or after drying. When dried, it is used as an ingredient after its rehydration in traditional culinary preparations .<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Traditional dairy products in Algeria<\/h2>\n
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History and origin of cheeses<\/h3>\n

According to Fox and McSweeney [9<\/a>], the word \u201ccheese\u201d comes from the Latin \u201cformaticus\u201d meaning \u201cwhat is done in a form.\u201d The discovery of cheese was probably by chance, of unknown precise origin, but archaeological discoveries indicated that cheese is made from the beginning of breeding. The first traces of dairy farming date back to 10,000\u2009years in the Middle East. Sheep and goat milks were apparently the first processed milks, and sheep and goats have been the first domesticated animals .<\/p>\n

The discovery of utensils and containers used in cheese making during the numerous archaeological excavations that took place around the world, and in particular in Egypt, Mesopotamia, or in the Mediterranean basin, has given evidence of the very ancient use of these fermentations. Cheese was already a popular food item during the Greek and Egyptian eras [11<\/a>]. It is thanks to the Romans that the art of making different types of cheese was developed . Cheese making is the oldest known way of preserving milk . Man has noticed that the milk he was storing coagulated and that once it is separated from its serum (whey), the coagulum becomes a compact mass that could dry and thus be preserved and transported. The spontaneous acidification is causing the coagulation and giving rise, because of its slowness, to the cream on the surface; fermented milks, butter, and dry cheese were probably the first dairy products.<\/p>\n

Algerian traditional dairy products<\/h3>\n

Contrary to popular belief, Algeria does have well-established traditions of manufacturing dairy products even if the activity is limited to the domestic sphere. The traditional dairy products, with strong cultural, medicinal, and economic value, are the historical product of the social and economic dynamism of the rural communities of women [16<\/a>]. Despite their anchoring in the Algerian culinary tradition and their ability to exploit the natural resources of disadvantaged regions (animal and plant species of mountain and Saharan ecosystems), these products evolve on the margins of implemented development policies in Algeria. The great majority of them are being downgraded by the markets through the emergence of dairy processing industries oriented more towards the satisfaction of the major urban markets, in subsidized milk and dairy products, than towards the valuation of local milk production .<\/p>\n

Many traditional products are vanishing for various reasons, including lack of feed availability, rural exodus, and changing dietary habits. Those ones, whose use is most widespread, such as\u00a0Rayeb<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0Jben<\/i>, and while keeping the same name, have changed their technological process because of their industrialization].<\/p>\n

Main categories of Algerian traditional dairy products<\/h3>\n

The different types of Algerian traditional dairy products are shown in Fig.\u00a01<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Fig. 1<\/b><\/figcaption>
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Fat dairy derivatives<\/h3>\n

Zebda<\/i>\u00a0(butter)<\/h4>\n

\u201cZebda<\/i>\u201d or fresh butter is obtained after churning \u201cRayeb<\/i>.\u201d The latter is added by a quantity of warm water (40\u201350\u2009\u00b0C) at the end of shaking to promote the agglomeration of fat globules and increase the yield of butter. Lipid globules appear on the surface and are recovered at the end of churn . The fresh butter obtained has a soft consistency due to the high concentration of water. It is also made in Middle Eastern countries and is known as Zobdeh .<\/p>\n

Smen<\/h4>\n

The surplus of butter produced is transformed into rancid butter \u201cSmen<\/i>\u201d by washing the fresh butter with warm water, brining, then dry salting (dusting on the surface, 8\u201310\u2009g\/100\u2009g) .\u00a0Smen<\/i> is a fatty milk derivative popular in the Maghreb countries, notably Algeria\u00a0and Morocco.<\/p>\n

Shmen<\/i>\u00a0(Semma)<\/h4>\n

\u201cShmen<\/i>\u201d or \u201cSemma<\/i>\u201d is clarified butter oil obtained by churning spontaneously acidified camel milk . The butter is then boiled and clarified after the addition of a clarifying agent (for example, crushed dates) and skimming after flocculation of the impurities. It is used by the Tuaregs (Algerian Sahara people) for the preparation of food or for cosmetic purposes .<\/p>\n

Traditional fermented beverages<\/h3>\n

Raib<\/h4>\n

\u201cRaib<\/i>\u201d is a fermented milk produced in many Mediterranean and sub-Saharan countries . \u201cRaib<\/i>\u201d is curdled milk, traditionally obtained after spontaneous acidification at room temperature of raw milk during a period ranging from 24 to 72\u2009h; it is consumed as it is or transformed. Fermentation has been associated with mesophilic lactic acid bacteria belonging to the genera\u00a0Leuconostoc<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0Lactococcus<\/i> naturally present in raw milks .<\/p>\n

Lben<\/h4>\n

\u201cLben<\/i>\u201d is one of the best-known products of artisanal milk processing; it is prepared following the churning of \u201cRaib<\/i>\u201d and butter separation . Churning makes it possible to collect the majority of its fat in the form of butter called \u201cZebda<\/i>.\u201d The homemade or family preparation of \u201cLben<\/i>\u201d is simple: the milk is left to itself in a \u201cRawaba<\/i>\u201d terracotta pot until it coagulates . This is done at room temperature and lasts 24 to 72\u2009h .<\/p>\n

The gel formed is stirred by a spoon or a ladle to facilitate his transferring in the container used for churning or \u201cMakhda<\/i>.\u201d Since ancient times, three types of traditional churns, varying from one region to another, are used in Algeria. Chaouias and Saharan nomads used the \u201cChekoua<\/i>\u201d (Fig.\u00a02<\/a>). It comes from a laborious treatment of goat skin or sheep skin. The \u201cChekoua<\/i>\u201d filled with \u201cRaib<\/i>\u201d is suspended to a tripod or a beam and vigorously agitated from front to back until the coalescence of aggregates of fat particles. The fat particles then agglomerate together, to form grains of butter . In the region of Eastern Kabylie (K\u2019bayel el Hedra) Ferdjioua, Mila, and Jijel, women used terracotta utensils called \u201cMezla<\/i>\u201d or \u201cArtoul<\/i>\u201d when it came to small volumes<\/p>\n

On Djurdjura, Kabyle (other regions in the North of Algeria) women use \u201cThakhssayeth Oussendou<\/i>\u201d also called \u201cThakhchachet<\/i>\u201d. This choice was not made at random; on the mountainous and rigid soil of Kabylie grow trees and plants including the calabash. This slightly exotic fruit, rigid and empty from the inside, serves as a traditional churn in Kabylie. The manipulator must shake vigorously, and then add small amounts of hot or cold water depending on the ambient temperature, so as to bring the temperature of the set to a level suitable for collecting the grains of butter. The churning operation lasts 40\u2009min until 1\u2009h and 15\u2009min. \u201cZebda<\/i>\u201d is collected, usually by hand<\/p>\n

Currently, \u201cLben<\/i>\u201d is currently manufactured industrially , and this dairy product remains largely manufactured nowadays by craftsmen according to its traditional process in the Maghreb countries, notably in Algeria, in Tunisia craftsmen, as well as in Morocco . \u201cLben<\/i>\u201d is the basic ingredient for making the traditional\u00a0Klila<\/i>\u00a0cheese.<\/p>\n

Algerian traditional cheeses<\/h3>\n

Cheese is the largest and most diverse group of dairy products. Their artisanal production is strongly linked to the \u201cterroir<\/i>\u201d . Traditional cheeses are cultural goods that deserve to be studied, characterized, and protected . Some cheeses are known, made, and eaten to the present day, while others are unfortunately endangered for various reasons, namely the unavailability of fodder, the rural exodus, and the change in food habits. Traditional Algerian cheeses are distributed into four main categories, namely fresh cheeses, ripened cheeses, processed cheeses, and hard cheeses.<\/p>\n

Fresh cheeses<\/h3>\n

Jben<\/i>\u00a0(Aguissi<\/i>)<\/h4>\n

Jben<\/i> is traditionally made in the Maghreb countries; denomination gathers very different technological trajectories, resulting in products with very varied characteristics . A stage of spontaneous acidification can usually occur at ambient atmosphere, during 24\u2009h to 72\u2009h depending on the temperature. \u201cJben<\/i>\u201d cheese is made with raw sheep milk or goat milk, spontaneously acidified and coagulated by coagulating enzymes of plant origin from cardoon flowers (Cynara cardunculus<\/i>\u00a0L.), a wild thorny plant (Cynara humilis<\/i>), artichoke (Cynara scolymus<\/i>), or pumpkin seeds [35<\/a>]. The whole flowers are macerated in the milk. The plant is used to accelerate the coagulation and to give a taste to the cheese. The plant variety used varies from one region to another; it gives a taste and a texture appreciated by the people of the concerned region. The curd is then drained and salted or not, according to the tastes.<\/p>\n

As described Benkerroum and Tamime , the \u201cJben<\/i>\u201d in Morocco can be hand made without enzymatic coagulation; in this case, raw milk is only coagulated by spontaneous acidification, and then the curd is drained for 2 to 3\u2009days to obtain the desired consistency. Additives can be added after draining and salting (garlic, parsley, pepper, etc.). The cheese obtained in other Arab countries corresponds to cheese named \u201cJibneh Beida<\/i>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Finally, a third technological process, using animal rennet, cow milk, and acidifying starters, is industrially used. Depending on the region, the \u201cJben<\/i>\u201d may be salted and then drained for 10\u2009days, or unsalted and drained for less than 4\u2009days, with an average of 62.5% moisture, 16.5% fat, 15.8% crude protein, 4.1% lactose, 1.04% titratable acidity, and pH\u20094.1 .<\/p>\n

Ighounane<\/h4>\n

Ighounane<\/i>\u00a0is cheese made in the heights of Djurdjura in Kabylie from colostrum (the first milk of cow giving birth); the \u201cIghounane<\/i>\u201d preparation is made in terracotta utensils coated with olive oil into which a small amount of salted water is poured, and then the milk is heated and coagulated. The curd formed is cut to continue draining and then is consumed as it is.<\/p>\n

Aghoughlou<\/h4>\n

Aghoughlou<\/i>\u00a0is cheese made in Kabylie, obtained from fresh cow or goat milk coagulated by the fig tree latex (Ficus carica<\/i>). The curd obtained is eaten fresh.<\/p>\n

Mechouna<\/i>\u00a0(Chnina<\/i>)<\/h4>\n

\u201cMechouna<\/i>\u201d is a cheese traditionally prepared with goat or cow milk. It can be considered as a fresh soft cheese. The process begins with heat treatment of the milk to boiling. Then, \u201cLben<\/i>\u201d is added with salt; the amount of \u201cLben<\/i>\u201d is half that of milk. The whole is heated a second time until coagulation and separation of curd and whey. The curd is separated from the whey by filtration, first through a kitchen sieve and into a fine fabric (muslin), and then suspended and allowed to drain until complete the elimination of the whey. Generally, this step can last overnight to ensure that the drip is complete, then the pressing is done . The cheese is obtained back and kept in cool glass containers. The preservation of this cheese must not exceed 6\u2009days. In order to improve its organoleptic qualities, this cheese can be added with several spices according to the choice of the consumers; in such a state, the \u201cMechouna<\/i>\u201d is called \u201cChnina<\/i>\u201d [37<\/a>].<\/p>\n

Kemariya<\/i>\u00a0(Takemmarite<\/i>)<\/h4>\n

It is a traditional cheese made only from goat milk, and it is made by women according to traditional methods in the regions of \u201cM\u2019zab\u201d \u00a0especially in the wilayates (districts) of Ghardaia and Naama (northern central and northern west of Algeria). \u201cKemariya<\/i>\u201d is a cheese that is often eaten as a dessert during the festive seasons with honey, peanuts, and served with mint tea. It is coagulated by vegetable or animal rennet and is also made from cow and camel milk. Due to the high demand for this cheese, it is increasingly produced by small factories in semi-industrial processes to be sold both in traditional markets and in some supermarkets of northern Algeria .<\/p>\n

Oudiouan Oulli<\/h4>\n

It is a Tuareg cheese similar to cottage cheese served in small portions and eaten fresh or dried.<\/p>\n

Fresh\u00a0Klila<\/i><\/h4>\n

To avoid degradation during the storage phase, \u201cLben<\/i>\u201d is heated moderately (55\u201375\u2009\u00b0C) until whey is separated; the coagulum obtained, called \u201cKlila<\/i>,\u201d made in several regions of Algeria, is consumed as a fresh cheese after natural draining .<\/p>\n

Hard cheeses<\/h3>\n

Iouls\u00e2n<\/i>\u00a0(Aoules<\/i>)<\/h4>\n

Iouls\u00e2n<\/i>\u00a0is a traditional Algerian cheese prepared by the Tuaregs of Hoggar or Ihaggarren (people from Algerian Sahara). It is a typical dry cheese (87 to 92% of dry matter), obtained by the moderate heating of the skimmed \u201cLben<\/i>\u201d coming from goat milk coagulated spontaneously. It is a fresh cheese, rarely ripened, with acid addition and heating of buttermilk, and it has a great resemblance to \u201cSkyr<\/i>\u201d (Iceland), \u201cKarish<\/i>\u201d (Egypt), and \u201cQuark<\/i>\u201d (Germany) . The heating is done in a clay container until the precipitation of the caseins. The precipitate is stretched in a basket of straw, and the curd is mixed in small quantities to form a small flat cylinder (2-cm thick, 6 to 8\u2009cm in diameter) . The cheese is then sun-dried, crushed, and can be mixed with date paste or with beverages .<\/p>\n

Takammart<\/h4>\n

Literally \u201ccheese\u201d in the \u201cTamasheq<\/i>\u201d (Tuareg) language, \u201cTakemmart<\/i>\u201d is a cheese from the Hoggar desert region (from Tamanrasset province in southern of Algeria), produced by the introduction of a piece of \u201cabomasums\u201d of young goats in the milk. The curd obtained is removed using a ladle and deposited and kneaded on mats containing fennel stems giving it a particular taste. The mats are subsequently exposed to the sun for 2\u2009days and then placed in the shade until the cheese hardens.<\/p>\n

Dry\u00a0Klila<\/i>\u00a0(dehydrated)<\/h4>\n

As it can be eaten fresh, \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d cheese can also be cut and dried (2 to 15\u2009days depending on the season) and then used after rehydration as an ingredient in culinary preparations. In its dehydrated form, it can be kept for several years at room temperature, in terracotta jars or goatskin bags .<\/p>\n

Bouhezza<\/i>\u00a0matured cheese<\/h4>\n

This is a traditional, soft-ripened cheese from the eastern regions of Algeria (Oum El Bouaghi, Khenchela, Batna\u2026) once famous because of an important practice of extensive goat and sheep farming. Originally, \u201cBouhezza<\/i>\u201d was traditionally the product of the processing of goat milk and ewes, but the current trend seems to be towards the use of cow milk .<\/p>\n

The cheese is obtained after the transformation of the \u201cLben<\/i>\u201d in a \u201cskinbag<\/i>\u201d or a \u201cChekoua<\/i>\u201d made of goatskin previously treated with salt and juniper . Draining, salting, and refining \u201cBouhezza<\/i>\u201d are performed simultaneously in the \u201cChekoua<\/i>\u201d for a period of 2 to 3\u2009months. During the ripening period, \u201cLben<\/i>\u201d and milk are added to the contents of the \u201cChekoua<\/i>.\u201d At the consumption stage, the cheese is kneaded with the adjunction of red pepper powder, which gives it a particular characteristic .<\/p>\n

Processed cheese\u00a0Imdeghest<\/i>\u00a0(Medghissa<\/i>)<\/h4>\n

\u201cImdeghest<\/i>\u201d or \u201cMedghissa<\/i>\u201d is a processed cheese from the Chaouia region (Northeastern of Algeria), prepared by cooking semi-dry \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d in whole milk from cow, goat, or sheep, over low heat. \u201cMedeghissa<\/i>\u201d is consumed as a snack and appreciated for its elasticity<\/p>\n

Traditional Algerian cheese \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d<\/h2>\n
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History of the \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d cheese study<\/h3>\n

Men proceeded to milk mammals; it is probably during the attempts to store the surplus milk that appeared the first curds that will later become cheese. Since then, people, as well as nations, have not stopped furthering the process. Not claiming a paternity of cheese in any case, nations codify, regulate, and protect their cheese specialities. In Algeria, there are several varieties of traditional cheeses, including \u201cKlila<\/i>. \u201d<\/p>\n

Craft production of \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d cheese is a traditional way of perpetuating an ancestral know-how and preserving the culinary heritage of intensive cattle, goat, and sheep breeding regions that characterized, long ago, the region of eastern Algeria. \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d cheese, made from the processing of milk during high lactation periods, was always present on the menus of all families, especially in spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d cheese was for a long time the only way to preserve milk. In spring, when the grass is high enough to feed the livestock and give a good milk production, the raw milk is left to itself, at room temperature, until its spontaneous coagulation. It is then churned to get the \u201cLben<\/i>,\u201d which is poorly preserved as it quickly becomes embittered after 2 to 3\u00a0days. To avoid waste, the product that is not consumed in case of overproduction is heated to separate the whey and curd, and it is this curd that is called \u201cKlila<\/i>.\u201d It is then consumed as dried or fresh cheese and incorporated into various culinary preparations .<\/p>\n

Considered as products with \u201chigh cultural and economic value,\u201d traditional dairy products, \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d cheese, in particular, are \u201ca sign of the social and economic dynamism of rural women communities.\u201d \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d can be dried to harden like a stone . Crushed, it is used as a condiment in the cooking of the nomads who also consume it when on a trip by letting it melt under their tongue. \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d cheese, although well known, manufactured, and consumed in Algeria since the dawn of time \u00a0until today in quite a few regions in Algeria, it has unfortunately been very little studied.<\/p>\n

Origin of denominations<\/h3>\n

The name of \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d cheese has been used since ancient times by the autochthonous Berbers of Algeria [4<\/a>,\u00a046<\/a>]. It comes very probably from the Berber word \u201cIkil<\/i>\u201d which means curdled milk. Among the \u201cChaouis<\/i>\u201d people (Berber population inhabiting the regions located in and surrounded by the Aur\u00e8s Mountains, Algeria), when the milk curdles, they say \u201cT’kellel<\/i>.\u201d In Kabylie, the milk that curdles spontaneously in hot weather is called \u201cTiklitt<\/i>\u201d and as the traditional \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d cheese is the curd recovered after fermentation and curdling milk. It remains one of the strongest assumptions.<\/p>\n

Another hypothesis suggests that \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d is so called because of the small cheese yield compared to the initial amount of milk used (about 1\/10). \u201cKlila<\/i>,\u201d in Arabic \u201c\u0642\u0644\u064a\u0644\u0629\u201d means small quantity.<\/p>\n

Currently, it is called \u201cLagta<\/i>\u201d in some areas of the far northeastern of Algeria. Formerly, Berbers called \u201cLagat<\/i>\u201d a low-fat cheese made and dried under the sun\u2019s rays. The word \u201cLagta<\/i>\u201d means that in order to obtain this cheese, you have to collect and recover small quantities of raw material over several days. In some areas of Algeria, it was referred to as \u201cLemjeben<\/i>\u201d which was also sun-dried and added in broths . These data require confirmation by historians specialized in the history of indigenous Berbers and North African nomads.<\/p>\n

\u201cTerroir<\/i>\u201d of traditional cheeses<\/h3>\n

\u201cTerroir\u201d concept<\/h4>\n

Traditional cheeses enjoy a special place among various food preparations. Their manufacturing tradition encompasses not only the know-how of the different generations but also an intimate marriage between the environment and dairy animals, hence the need to preserve this tradition in its natural atmosphere. Each traditional cheese comes from complex systems that give it specific organoleptic characteristics. The notion of \u201cTerroir<\/i>\u201d for milk and cheese is a geographical area characterized by environmental conditions and types of animals that, when exploited by humans, lead to specific products .<\/p>\n

The different elements which establish the typicality of each cheese are related to various biodiversity factors, such as the environment, the climate, natural grassland, the breed of animals, the use of raw milk and its natural microflora, the cheese technology based on the unique expertise of men and not on automated technology, historical tools, and finally the natural conditions of ripening.<\/p>\n

\u201cTerroir<\/i>\u201d of traditional \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d cheese<\/h4>\n

Geographical delimitation of the \u201cterroir<\/i>\u201d of traditional \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d cheese has confirmed the production and consumption of the latter in different regions of eastern Algeria. The area extends over several Wilayas (provinces): Guelma, Souk-Ahras, Oum El Bouaghi, Batna, and Khenchela . Continuing investigations on this cheese have shown that it is known, manufactured, and consumed also in the provinces of Biskra, Tebessa, M\u2019sila, Setif, Bordj Bouarriridj, Taref, and Mila. The families that make this cheese are essentially indigenous Berbers.<\/p>\n

Artisanal manufacturing of traditional \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d cheese<\/h3>\n

In rural areas, milk is abundant during periods of high lactation. For lack of means of preservation, it is difficult to keep the excess of this quickly perishable food; the main part of the production is therefore transformed into cheese. In spring, which corresponds to the period of high lactation and milk abundance, milk is collected in milking vases \u00a0and kept in a curdling vase \u201cRawaba<\/i>\u201d. In the absence of a means of preservation, milk quickly embitters and turns into \u201cRayeb<\/i>.\u201d This remains the only way to recover it while avoiding any waste<\/p>\n

The \u201cRayeb<\/i>\u201d is then churned in goatskins or sheep skins called \u201cChekoua<\/i>.\u201d It is churned by adding a little cold water that freezes the butter. It is quite an art to grab the butter: the Berber woman engages her entire arm inside the skin bag put on the ground. She exerts a series of pressures from the bottom up which have the effect of getting the clots of butter in suspension to the orifice where she seizes them. The skimmed milk curd gives an \u201cLben<\/i>\u201d extremely prized by the Berbers an acidified and refreshing drink that they gladly take with couscous.<\/p>\n

\u201cKlila<\/i>,\u201d as mentioned above, is a fermented cheese produced empirically in several regions of Algeria. Leksir and Chemmam describe \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d as the product obtained after curdling of milk. The curd is then churned, cooked, and squeezed lightly. It is eaten fresh or dry. This product was traded by the Saharan Nomad tribes in the Tell markets . However, for the feeding of caravans, goat cheese, dry and hard as stones, were produced. In some tribes, they crush and mix it with cereal flour, all diluted with milk or water .<\/p>\n

\u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d cheese is obtained by a relatively moderate heating of \u201cLben<\/i>\u201d until the curd and the separation of a clear greenish-yellow whey, \u201cEl mis<\/i>.\u201d The curd is drained spontaneously; the cheese obtained is eaten fresh or after drying. The low-fat cheese separated from \u201cEl mis<\/i>\u201d is spread out to dry in the sun or on the roofing strips of the tents. The dry cheese is kept in dry sheepskins or goatskin called \u201cMezwed<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Similar cheeses to \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d in the world<\/h4>\n

Several cheeses, similar to the Algerian \u201cKlila<\/i>\u201d cheese, are made all over the world. \u201cJameed<\/i>\u201d is made in many Middle Eastern countries (Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Iraq…), \u201cChahana<\/i>\u201d in India and Bangladesh, \u201cChhuga<\/i>\u201d (Chhurpi<\/i>) in Nepal, \u201cTrachanas<\/i>\u201d in Cyprus, \u201cKishk<\/i>\u201d in the Middle East (Qatar, Syria, Egypt and Lebanon), \u201cMuktagachar Monda<\/i>\u201d in Bangladesh, \u201c\u00d6r\u00f6m<\/i>\u201d in Mongolia, \u201cPastillas De Leche<\/i>\u201d in the Philippines, \u201cAyib<\/i>\u201d in Ethiopia, The \u201cArish<\/i>\u201d in Egypt, \u201cTikkamarin<\/i>\u201d in Afghanistan, and \u201cAhaggar<\/i>\u201d in Niger.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: journalofethnicfoods.biomedcentral.com The cheese\u00a0Klila\u00a0occupies a very important socio-economic place established in the rural and peri-urban environment. 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