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Telemea is a soft white sheep’s cheese traditionally made in Romania, but also produced in other European countries. It is similar to Greek feta cheese and is often used in snacks and salads. Rural regions of Romania have established traditions around the production and distribution of telemea cheeses. The cheese has a Protected Designation of Origin status in the European Union.
Telemea is a soft white sheep’s cheese traditionally made by the Vlach or Wallachian in Europe, originally inhabitants of Romania. Since the Vlach people spread to many European nations and intermingled with native peoples starting around AD 275, telemea is also produced in Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Poland, and other countries in close proximity. While a more unusual case, telemea can also be made from goat or buffalo milk, and is sometimes made from cow’s milk.
A popular cheese that is similar to telemea in appearance and texture is the common feta cheese of Greek origin. Both cheeses have a creamy texture and are used in combination with snacks and salads. Romanian rindless cheeses like telemea also have cumin seeds added to enhance the natural tangy aftertaste for which they are known. The older telemea is, or the longer it is, the saltier it tends to be, as it is stored in a saline solution. For this reason, older telemean cheeses are recommended to be soaked in cold water before consuming to get rid of some of the saltiness.
Rural regions of Romania, such as southeastern Transylvania, have established traditions built around the production and distribution of telemea cheeses. The cheese is transported to the villages by horse or donkey on a weekly basis, where it is sold and delivered to local officials. It is also traditional to return a portion of the cheese to the owners of the animals that produced the milk, as a form of “rent”. This equates to approximately 6-8 kg (13-18 lbs) of telemea per ewe, per season. Villagers often own a dozen sheep per family, which are cared for jointly by the shepherds, and by supplying these animals to the shepherd, each family receives a weekly quota of cheeses.
Soft cheeses like telemea are more easily produced than harder cheeses like cheddar, as they don’t require extended aging periods. In this case, pasteurized milk is curdled in the normal cheese-making process and the curds are removed and placed in cheesecloth overnight, where it is pressed into a solid form which will later be cut into blocks. It is then matured for a month in a solution of salt and whey before being ready for consumption.
Romanian cuisine makes extensive use of telemea, and cheese has become so linked to Romanian culture that it has a Protected Designation of Origin status in European Union law, as do cheeses such as gorgonzola which is associated with Italy. Protected designation status is granted to eight varieties of telemea cheeses, named after the regions in which they are produced. These include the Romanian cities and surrounding regions of Arges, Brasov, Carei and Sibiu, the central region of Harghita, the city of Huedin, the northwestern region of Oas, and south-central Valcea.
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