Cooperativa Agricola Somes-Aries, Taga Cheese

Țaga, Cluj County

The story of Țaga cheese takes us back to distant times, centuries ago, when the nobleman Schilling’s shepherds stole part of a sheep's hide and hid it in a nearby cave. A few weeks later the nobleman found the cheese in the cave and tasted it to see if it was still edible. The cheese was covered with mold, making it soft in the middle, with a strong smell and an unusual taste, and to Schilling’s surprise it was much tastier than the original. Henceforth the cheese was moved to the cave to mature.

The cave is now 125 metres long and five metres wide. It has a constant temperature of 14ºC, humidity of 93%, and, most importantly, the bacteria Brevibacterium Linens, which gives the product its specific texture, aroma and color.

Originally, Țaga cheese was obtained only from sheep’s milk. Today it is produced from pasteurized cow’s milk.

The entire production process is run by the Someș Arieș Agricultural Cooperative, which, besides the soft cheese of Țaga, known to many under the Năsal brand, also produces fresh cheeses (telemea), and matures three more varieties in the Țaga cave:

• Bobâlna – Made in Țaga, a creamy cheese fermented with soft cow's soft paste, aged for 20 days, with a creamy structure and strong taste that suggests wormwood

• Moeciu – Made in Țaga, a fermented cheese with a semi-hard paste made from cow's milk, aged for 30 days

• Montana – Made in Țaga, a fermented cheese with a semi-hard paste made from cow's milk, aged for 35 days.

Website www.somes-aries.com  

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Alina Iancu, 20/09/2019