Chechil

{{short description|Brined string cheese}} {{Infobox cheese | name = Chechil | image = Չեչիլ պանիր 3.jpg | caption = | othernames = See here | country = | region = Shirak (Armenia),<br> Meskheti and Achara (Georgia),<br> Erzurum (Turkey) | town = | source = Cow, sheep, goat (mainly skimmed cow's milk) | pasteurized = Sometimes | texture = Stringy, braided, or bundled | aging = Fresh or brined | fat = Up to 10% in dry matter | protein =  | weight = 3–4 kg per coil | dimensions =  | commons = Category:Chechil }}

'''Chechil'''{{efn|{{langx|hy|չեչիլ}}, {{IPA|hy|t͡ʃʰɛˈt͡ʃʰil}}}} (also '''chechili'''){{efn|{{lang-ka|ჩეჩილი}}<ref name="bradttravelguides"/><ref>{{Cite book |author1=Chitadze, T.|author2=Dundua, T.|author3=Ebralidze, I.|author4=Gigauri, M.|author5=Jorjadze, M.|author6=Khazalashvili, N.|author7=Lomidze, D.|author8=Zhuzhunadze T.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eNKaEAAAQBAJ&dq=Chechili+Georgian&pg=PA2 |title=Georgia – Agritourism guide to Samtskhe-Javakheti: Places, people, products |date=2022-08-11 |publisher=Food & Agriculture Org. |isbn=978-92-5-136544-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Topchishvili 2014 3272"/>}} is a brined string cheese primarily made from skimmed cow's milk, though it can also be produced from mixtures of cow, sheep, and goat milk.<ref name="syrodelie"/> It is a ''pasta filata''-type cheese that is pulled into thin strings and typically formed into braids.<ref name="oxfordcompanion"/>

Chechil is similar to mozzarella.<ref name="bradttravelguides">{{Cite book |last=Burford |first=Tim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RSEREQAAQBAJ&dq=Chechili+Georgian&pg=PT135 |title=Georgia |date=2024-08-09 |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |isbn=978-1-80469-287-5 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="armenianfoodfactfiction"/> It occupies an intermediate position between rennet- and acid-set cheeses and is sometimes classified as a sulguni-type cheese.<ref name="handbookofdairyproduction"/><ref name="syrodelie"/> The cheese is popular in Armenia and Georgia.<ref>{{cite book|title=Gardens of biodiversity : conservation of genetic resources and their use in traditional food production systems by small farmers of the Southern Caucasus|date=30 December 2010|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|page=235|isbn=978-9251066133}}</ref>

==Etymology, names and origin== The word ჩეჩილი (chechili) in Georgian directly means "[something] that is unraveled/separated", which derives from the Georgian verb ჩეჩვა (chechva), meaning "to tear apart" or "to unravel or "to separate". The root ჩეჩ- (chech-) conveys the act of pulling apart, unraveling or shredding, while the suffix -ილი (-ili) is a common Georgian nominal suffix that acts as a resultative participle that forms nouns from verbs, often denoting a resulting state or characteristic.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nizharadze |url= |title=ქართული ენის აჭარული დიალექტი |date=1971 |publisher=Soviet Adjara |pages=403 |language=ka |trans-title=Adjarian dialect of Georgian language}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Ბერიძე |first=Მერაბ |url=https://dspace.nplg.gov.ge/handle/1234/449756 |title=სოფლები და ნასოფლარები მოგვითხრობენ |publisher=უნივერსალი |year=2011 |isbn=978-9941-17-415-5 |location=Tbilisi |pages=88 |language=ka}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=ღლონტი |first=ალექსანდრე |title=საქართველოს პარლამენტის ეროვნული ბიბლიოთეკა |publisher=განათლება |year=1984 |location=თბილისი |pages=509 |language=ka}}</ref> The verb ''chechva'' ("to tear/shred") also gives rise to the past participle forms ''dachechili'' ("torn") and ''gachechili'' ("shredded") when combined with a preverb, while ''chechili'' is the form without a preverb and belongs to the oldest layer of Georgian agricultural terminology.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="Topchishvili 2014 3272">{{Cite book |last=Topchishvili |first=Roland |title=ქართველთა კვებითი კულტურის ისტორიიდან |date=2014 |publisher=Tbilisi State University |isbn=9789941224393 |pages=327 |language=ka |trans-title=From the diet history of the Georgians: suluguni}}</ref>

In Armenian, the word ''chil'' literally means "lean" or "stringy",<ref name="dialectdictionary1" /><ref name="explanatorydictionary"/><ref name="koghbapornoyemberyan"/><ref name="armenianexplanatorydictionary" /> and ''chechil'' translates as "that separates into threads" (թել-թել բաժանվող).<ref name="dialectdictionary1" /> Other names are also used in Armenian, such as chechil panir,{{efn|{{langx|hy|չեչիլ պանիր|lit=chechil cheese}}}} tel panir,{{efn|{{langx|hy|թել պանիր|lit=string cheese}},<ref name="dialectdictionary1">{{cite book|title=Հայոց լեզվի բարբառային բառարան [Dialect Dictionary of the Armenian Language]|publisher=National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia|author=Institute of Language after Hrachia Acharian|year=2007}})</ref> {{IPA|hy|tʰɛl pɑˈniɾ}}}} husats panir,{{efn|{{langx|hy|հյուսած պանիր|lit=braided cheese}}}} chil panir,{{efn|{{langx|hy|ճիլ պանիր|lit=lean, stringy, made up of thin threads}}<ref name="dialectdictionary1" /><ref name="explanatorydictionary">{{cite book|title=Արդի հայերենի բացատրական բառարան|language=hy|author-first=Eduard|author-last=Aghayan|trans-title=Explanatory Dictionary of Modern Armenian|author-link=Eduard Aghayan|year=1976|location=Yerevan, Armenia|publisher=Hayastan Publishing House}}</ref><ref name="koghbapornoyemberyan">{{cite book|title=Կողբոփոր - Նոյեմբերյան. անցյալը, կյանքը, կենցաղը|trans-title=Koghbapor–Noyemberyan: The Past, Life, and Everyday Life|author-first=S.S.|author-last=Mirzoyan|language=hy|location=Yerevan, Armenia|year=2007|publisher=Zangak-97}}</ref><ref name="armenianexplanatorydictionary" />}} as well as chivil panir.{{efn|{{langx|hy|ճիւիլ պանիր}}<ref name="dialectdictionary1" /><ref name="armenianexplanatorydictionary">{{cite book|title=Հայերէն բացատրական բառարան|language=hy|author-first=Stepan |author-last=Malkhasyants|trans-title=Armenian Explanatory Dictionary|author-link=Stepan Malkhasyants|year=1944|location=Yerevan, Armenian SSR|publisher=State Publishing House of the Armenian SSR}}</ref><ref name="dictionaryofArmeniancuisine">{{cite book|title=Հայկական խոհանոցի բառարան [Dictionary of Armenian Cuisine]|author-first1=Vahagn|author-last1=Adamyan|author-first2=Jasmine|author-last2=Babayan|language=hy|publisher=Unknown publisher|location=Yerevan, Armenia|year=2015}}</ref>{{pb}}The term ճիւիլ (jivil/chivil) is recorded in the Karin dialect of Western Armenian, while the form ճիվել (jivel/chivel) appears in the Khotorjur dialect.<ref name="dialectdictionary1"/><ref name="dictionaryofArmeniancuisine"/>}}

In Russian, the cheese is known as syr-kosichka.{{efn|{{langx|ru|сыр-косичка|lit=braided cheese}}}}{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} In Turkish, the cheese is referred to as çeçil, civil peyniri, saçak, tel, dil, or örgü cheese.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

The ''Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary'' mentions the cheese ''chil'' (or ''tchil''), identifying these names as Armenian terms.<ref name="brockhausandefron">{{cite book|title=Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary|language=ru|date=1890|location=Saint Petersburg|pages=837–838}}</ref> ''The Oxford Companion to Cheese'' lists ''chechil panir'' as an Armenian cheese.<ref name="oxfordcompanion"/> The cheese is also referred to as '''twisted string cheese'''.<ref name="oxfordcompanion"/>

==History== According to the 19th-century ''Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary'', the cheese ''chil'' (or ''tchil'') was being produced in the Alexandropol district of the Erivan Governorate from skimmed milk.{{efn|The Alexandropol district of the Erivan Governorate corresponds to the modern-day Shirak Province in Armenia}}<ref name="brockhausandefron"/> Milk was left to sour in shallow wooden vats, the cream separated, and a starter culture added.<ref name="brockhausandefron"/> The resulting curd was salted, kneaded in salted water, and formed into large circles or bundles of thin strands, known as ''chetchil'' or ''chechil''.<ref name="brockhausandefron"/>

The original chechil was made through direct acidification, without rennet.<ref name="oxfordcompanion">{{cite book|title=The Oxford Companion to Cheese|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2016|page=694|quote=}}</ref> In the former Soviet countries, chechil production increased with the advent of automated production lines in the late 20th and early 21st centuries,<ref name="handbookofdairyproduction">{{cite book|author-first1=Vladimir Vasilyevich|author-last1=Kuznetsov|author-first2=Gerhard Heinrichovich|author-last2=Shiller|title=Справочник технолога молочного производства|trans-title=Technologist's Handbook of Dairy Production|location=St. Petersburg|date=2003|volume=III|publisher=GIORD|isbn=5-901065-47-6}}</ref> with major producers including the {{interlanguage link|Giaginsky Dairy Plant|lt=Giaginskiy|ru|Гиагинский молочный завод}} and Ruzaevsky dairy factories in Russia.<ref name="handbookofdairyproduction"/>

In Western countries, chechil is often referred to as Armenian cheese or Syrian cheese.<ref name="armenianfoodfactfiction">{{cite book|title=Armenian Food: Fact, Fiction & Folklore|first=Irina|last=Petrosian|first2=David|last2=Underwood|date=2006|page=47}}</ref> Armenian refugees who settled in Syria after the 1915 Armenian genocide introduced the cheese there.<ref name="armenianfoodfactfiction"/>

==Production technology== [[File:Cutting Smoked Cheese (Armenia).jpg|thumb|right|Cutting smoked chechil cheese in Armenia]] The cheese is made from skimmed milk with high acidity.<ref name="piruzyan">{{cite book|last=Piruzyan|first=Aram S.|author-link=Aram Piruzyan|title=Армянская кулинария|trans-title=Armenian Cooking|language=Russian|publisher=Gostorgizdat|place=Moscow|date=1960|url=https://armeniansite.ru/books/Pirusyan%20-%20Armyanskaya%20kulinaria.pdf|page=172}}</ref><ref name="syrodelie"/> To achieve the desired acidity, the milk is left to sour at a temperature of 35–40 °C, or acidic whey, sour milk, or matzoon (a fermented milk product) is added.<ref name="syrodelie"/> Rennet or pepsin is added when the acidity of the milk reaches 45–50 °T for cow's milk and 100–110 °T for sheep's milk.<ref name="syrodelie"/> The coagulation temperature is 38–40 °C, and the process lasts 5–10 minutes.<ref name="syrodelie"/>

After the curd forms, it is heated to 48–54 °C with continuous stirring.<ref name="syrodelie"/> The curd turns into flakes, which stick together and form a long ribbon.<ref name="syrodelie"/><ref name="piruzyan"/> The cheese mass is gathered, kneaded, stretched, and tied into skeins.<ref name="syrodelie"/> The fresh mass is aged in brine with a concentration of 16–19%; sometimes it is mixed with curd or other cheeses and stored in unglazed jugs or in a sheep's skin.<ref name="syrodelie"/>

==Regional variants== ===Armenia=== thumb|right|Armenian chechil

In Armenia, chechil is most common in the Shirak region.<ref name="traditionalfood">{{cite book|title=Традиционная пища как выражение этнического самосознания [Traditional food as an expression of ethnic self-awareness]|language=ru|date=2001|author-first1=Serguei|author-last1=Alexandrovich Arutyunov|author-first2=T.|author-last2=A. Voronina|publisher=Nauka|page=123|isbn=9785020087569}}</ref> Armenian varieties include husats and tel panir, which are made by repeatedly stretching heated cheese curds into thin strands and twisting them into ropes.<ref name="piruzyan"/><ref name="oxfordcompanion"/><ref name="armenianfoodfactfiction"/><ref name="traditionalfood"/> Traditionally, these cheeses were stored in brine in clay pots, and later in enamel or glass containers.<ref name="traditionalfood"/> Gyumri chechil with blue mold is another regional variant.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

Chechil is used as a main ingredient in the traditional dish panrkhash.<ref name="tastingtable">{{cite web|url=https://www.tastingtable.com/1627992/armenian-foods-drinks-try-once/|title=15 Dishes And Drinks From Armenia You Need To Try At Least Once|date=27 July 2024|website=Tasting Table|author-first=Mona|author-last=Bassil|access-date=31 January 2025}}</ref>

The tradition of making chechil and braided cheeses in the Shirak region is included in the intangible cultural heritage list of Armenia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://int-heritage.am/ich-list-of-ra/|title=ՀՀ ՈՆՄԺ Արժեքների Ցանկ|trans-title=List of Intangible Cultural Values of Armenia|language=hy|website=int-heritage.am|date=19 April 2022 |access-date=3 July 2025}}</ref>

===Georgia=== In Georgia, there are varieties such as Meskhuri chechili and Acharuli chechili. In the United Kingdom, Meskhuri chechili is a protected geographical indication by agreement between the UK and Georgian governments."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Meskhuri Chechili|url=https://www.gov.uk/protected-food-drink-names/mesxuri-chechili-slash-meskhuri-chechili|url-status=live|access-date=29 March 2021|website=Gov.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914155027/https://www.gov.uk/protected-food-drink-names/mesxuri-chechili-slash-meskhuri-chechili |archive-date=2021-09-14 }}</ref>

===Turkey=== thumb|right|Turkish çeçil

In Turkey, civil peyniri is a similar or identical brined string cheese.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Türkiye'nin peynir röntgeni - Timeturk Haber|url=https://www.timeturk.com/turkiye-nin-peynir-rontgeni/haber-1680989|access-date=2021-05-04|website=www.timeturk.com|language=tr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=TATTERSALL|first=Aynur|title=Anadolu'da peynir peşinde bir yolculuk|url=https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/seyahat/yazarlar/aynur-tattersall/anadoluda-peynir-pesinde-bir-yolculuk-41713407|access-date=2021-05-04|website=www.hurriyet.com.tr|date=13 January 2021 |language=tr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=QuarkPlayer|first1=player-inline {display: inline-block;padding-bottom: 56 25%;position: relative;width: 100%;z-index: 5;} player-box {height: 100%;left: 0;position: absolute;top: 0;width: 100%;}$ ready{quarkPlayer = new|last2=bufferLength:5|last3=true|first3=autoPlay|last4=false|first4=subTitles|last5=false|first5=showAds|last6=false|first6=showNotification|last7=showB|last8=true|first8=widthSelector|last9=false|first9=customMenu|title=Civil peynir, göğermiş peynir ve kadayıf dolmasından sonra su böreği de tescillendi|url=https://www.milliyet.com.tr/pembenar/civil-peynir-gogermis-peynir-ve-kadayif-dolmasindan-sonra-su-boregi-de-tescillendi-6276805|access-date=2021-05-04|website=Milliyet|language=tr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=bakkaya|last2=bakkaya|title=Türkiyede üretilen peynir çeşitleri|url=https://www.posta.com.tr/turkiye-bir-peynir-cenneti-fotograflari-2298885|access-date=2021-05-04|website=Posta|date=20 January 2021 |language=tr}}</ref> In 2009, Erzurum civil peyniri was officially registered with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office and granted a geographical indication.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=17 March 2021 |archive-date=25 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725063303/https://www.turkpatent.gov.tr/TURKPATENT/resources/temp/8946322C-E661-4FE0-9286-ABFBC5B899B2.pdf;jsessionid=DEECEBB09A118FB1A2428B104E738738 |title=Arşivlenmiş kopya |url=https://www.turkpatent.gov.tr/TURKPATENT/resources/temp/8946322C-E661-4FE0-9286-ABFBC5B899B2.pdf;jsessionid=DEECEBB09A118FB1A2428B104E738738 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=17 March 2021 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126063456/https://www.ci.gov.tr/Files/GeographicalSigns/116.pdf |title=Arşivlenmiş kopya |url=https://www.ci.gov.tr/Files/GeographicalSigns/116.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

Another form of civil peyniri is produced in the city of Erzurum, and uses ''Penicillium roqueforti'' to produce a blue cheese variety of chechil.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cakmakci |first=Songul |last2=Gurses |first2=Mustafa |last3=Hayaloglu |first3=A. Adnan |last4=Cetin |first4=Bulent |last5=Sekerci |first5=Pinar |last6=Dagdemir |first6=Elif |date=7 September 2014 |title=Mycotoxin production capability of Penicillium roqueforti in strains isolated from mould-ripened traditional Turkish civil cheese |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19440049.2014.997808 |journal=Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A |language=en |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=245–249 |doi=10.1080/19440049.2014.997808 |issn=1944-0049|url-access=subscription }}</ref> It is locally known as göğermiş peynir, and has also been registered and received a geographical indication from the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.{{Citation needed|date=November 2025}}

==Chemical composition== * Fat in dry matter — up to 10%<ref name="syrodelie"/> * Moisture — no more than 60%<ref name="syrodelie"/> * Table salt — 4–8%<ref name="syrodelie"/>

The cheeses are twisted into coils weighing 3–4 kg.<ref name="syrodelie"/> Before consumption, due to their high salt content and firm texture, chechil is soaked in warm or cold water.<ref name="piruzyan"/>

==Microbiology== Research by M. A. Volkova and Z. K. Dilanyan shows that the microflora of chechil cheese reaches its peak within the first day.<ref name="syrodelie"/> The main microorganisms are ''Lactococcus lactis'' (47%) and ''Lactobacillus casei'' (53%).<ref name="syrodelie"/> The development of lactic acid bacteria occurs faster than in other cheeses, and their dominance persists until the end of ripening.<ref name="syrodelie"/> One gram of chechil contains approximately 580,000 lactic acid bacteria according to the MPA method and about 5 million according to the maximum dilution method.<ref name="syrodelie">{{cite book|title=Сыроделие|trans-title=Cheese-making|date=1984|edition=3rd|author=Zaven Dilanyan|location=Moscow, USSR|publisher=Light and Food Industry Publishing House|language=ru|pages=207–208}}</ref>

==Gallery== <gallery> File:Թել պանիր 2.jpg|Armenian tel panir (husats panir) File:Çîçal 2.jpg|Kurdish çîçal File:Cheese from Kars.jpg|Turkish çeçil in Kars File:Panrkhash.jpg|Chechil in the dish Panrkhash </gallery>

==See also== {{Portal|Food}} * List of cheeses * List of stretch-curd cheeses * String cheese

==References== ===Notes=== {{notelist}}

===Citations=== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|Chechil}}

Category:Brined white cheeses Category:Smoked cheeses Category:Stretched-curd cheeses Category:Armenian cheeses Category:Turkish cheeses