Dairy

Sirene

Sirene is the Bulgarian (and wider Balkan) brined white cheese, at its best from sheep’s milk—crumbly, salty, and tangy with a moist paste that holds shape in cubes yet breaks under a fork. Pure sheep sirene tastes richer and more aromatic than cow sirene, with a lactic sharpness ideal against cucumbers, tomatoes, and roasted peppers. It is the backbone of shopska salad and countless banitsa fillings. Cube into salads, bake in clay pots with eggs and vegetables (sirene po shopski), or crumble into savoury pastries. Store in brine chilled; rinse if overly saline. Sheep sirene browns and softens in the oven without fully melting away. Avoid confusing mild cow blocks with the fuller traditional ewe product.

Also known as: Sheep sirene