| Brânză de burduf | |
| Country: | Romania |
| Region: | Romanian Carpathians |
| Town: | Fundata |
| Source: | Sheep, Buffalo |
| Pasteurised: | Traditionally, no |
| Texture: | Soft |
Brânză de burduf (also known as "Brânză frământată"[1] (English: Kneaded cheese)) is a salty type of Romanian cheese, made with sheep (or occasionally buffalo) milk.[2] [3] It has a strong flavour and slightly soft in texture.
To obtain it, sweet caş is cut into small pieces, salted and then hand-mixed in a large wooden bowl. The mixture is then placed in a sheep's stomach,[4] or into a sheep's skin that has been carefully cleaned and sawed on the edges, or in a tube made of pine bark. The cheese can be consumed even if kept for a long time in a sheep's stomach or in a sheep's skin. If kept in pine bark, the cheese gets a specific pine resin flavour.
The cheese is specific to different areas from the historical regions of Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia (including assortments known as: "Brânză în coajă de brad" (Cheese in fir shell), "Brânză de putină", "Cremă Focșani", "Brânză Moldova", "Brânză Dorna", "Brânză Luduș", "Brânză Bistrița", "Brânză Săveni" or "Brânză Botoșana").[1] [5] [6]