Travnik
Travnik, known also as Arnauten and Vlasic, is a soft cheese made from
ewe's milk to which a small pro****tion of goat's milk is added. Usually
it is made from whole milk, but sometimes skim milk is used. It was first
made more than a century ago in Albania, where it was known as Arnautski
Sir or Arnauten cheese. Later the industry spread to Yugoslavia (Bosnia,
Herzegovina, and the Vlasic Plain area), and it became know as Travnik
for the town of that name in Bosnia, which is the center of trade.
Enough rennet is added to fresh warm milk to coagulate it in from 1 1/2
to 2 hours, and it is left undisturbed until the curd contracts and whey
appears on the surface. Then the curd is put into woolen sacks, and the
whey is drained from it for 7 or 8 hours. Then the curd is removed from
the sacks and pressed by hand into flattened balls, which are dried for a
short time in the open air. When they are sufficiently dry, the balls of
cheese
are packed in layers in kegs. The kegs are 14 to 28 inches in diameter and
about 24 inches deep and hold from 50 to 130 pounds of cheese. Each
layer of cheese is salted and pressed to remove air spaces. Usually there
is
some whey on the surface when the keg is full, and the excess whey is
removed. The cheese is covered and pressed lightly. It may be eaten either
fresh or after curing for periods ranging from 2 weeks to several months.
The fresh, whole-milk cheese is soft, almost white, and mild and pleasing
in flavor.
From USDA Agr. Handbook No.54, Cheese Varieties and Descriptions,
George P.Sanders, issued Dec. 1953
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