Cheese "pigtail" (or Chechil) is a popular dairy product. This snack can be found in almost every store: both in a large supermarket and in a small shop. This product is very popular due to its taste and unusual appearance (outwardly the cheese looks like a woman’s braid). But those who are about to try it for the first time have a lot of questions. For example, is it possible to include such cheese in a diet, or should this product be given to athletes before competitions? Someone does not want to gain weight and does not know whether Chechil contributes to weight gain. Finally, many are interested in the composition and energy value of BZHU. Let's clarify these important issues.
Compound
Smoked braided cheese contains only a few ingredients. These are milk, starter culture, water and rennet (for example, rennin or pepsin). Chechil is a dairy product and therefore contains the usual microelements and beneficial substances: calcium (strengthens bones and teeth), phosphorus, amino acids, vitamins and many others. Thus, cheese not only has a pleasant taste, but also an impressive range of nutrients and microelements necessary for the full functioning of the human body.
Calorie content
Chechil cheese is presented on the shelves in two forms: white (salted) and smoked. Both types are considered to have the same amount of calories. So, per 100 grams of cheese product there are 320 kcal. Now let’s look at the composition of the BJU of “pigtail” cheese.
Composition of BJU
BJU is the presence and quantity in the product of such important organic substances for the human body as proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Proteins are substances consisting of special acids (amino acids). In the human body, proteins accompany various biochemical reactions and promote metabolism (metabolism). Thus, per 100 grams of “pigtail” cheese there are 19.5 grams of protein. This amount is approximately 78 calories.
- Fats are one of the main elements of food. Another name for fats is lipids. Fats are stored in the human body and provide it with energy. In Chechil there are 26 grams of fat per 100 grams of product. This amount is approximately 234 calories.
- Carbohydrates are an integral part of the cells and tissues of the human body. 100 grams of braids contain 2.2 grams of carbohydrates. This amount is approximately 9 calories.
- The energy ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in Chechil cheese as a percentage is 24% by 73% by 3%. It turns out that for those losing weight, this cheese is not the best snack option.
Therefore, if you are trying to lose weight, then try to eliminate or minimize the use of this product.
Benefits and harms
This product will be especially useful for people whose bodies suffer from a lack of calcium and phosphorus. By systematically consuming dairy products (including Chechil), it will be possible to restore the good condition of nails, hair and bones. This cheese will be a useful snack for those who are underweight or for those who want to gain weight (for example, athletes before a competition).
This product is contraindicated in case of allergies or lack of enzymes for the absorption of lactose. It should not be consumed if there is high cholesterol or calcium in the body, with caution if you have kidney disease, high acidity and other diseases of the digestive tract.
“Pigtail” cheese is a native Armenian product, but it has long conquered the Russian consumer. The undeniable advantages of this cheese are its bright smoked taste, ease of consumption and unusual appearance.
See below for the process of making "pigtail" cheese.
Smoked cheese braid is a traditional dish of Armenian cuisine and is called chechil. Today, this product is especially popular among the population of our country. Pigtail cheese is made from small fibers, the taste of which is almost identical to suluguni. Basically, this product is produced manually. This cheese stands out for its original shape, which consists of threads formed into braids (see photo). On the shelves you can find products of different thicknesses and lengths.
Chechil also stands out for its unusual production technology, since the cheese is melted at the very beginning and only then other manipulations are carried out. Smoked braids also stand out for their high juiciness and unusual taste. This product does not have its own original smell, it smells the same as other types of cheese. The same cannot be said about the taste, which is distinguished by a slight spiciness and smoky notes. This cheese can have a beige or yellow color, which directly depends on the manufacturing process.
To prepare chechil, fresh milk from a cow, sheep or goat is used. Fermentation of the liquid occurs naturally, that is, first the milk is heated and mixed with a special starter and the rennet element. The cheese takes 10 minutes to curdle and is then reheated to form flakes. At this time, strips about 8 cm long are made from them. Then they are taken out and cut into certain ribbons, from which braids are woven. Then they are placed in a vat of brine until fully ripe. Mature chechil is sent to certain chambers intended for smoking. The fat content of the finished product varies from 5 to 10%.
How to select and store?
When choosing a smoked braid, pay attention to the color of the product. It is recommended to avoid options that are bright yellow in color, as this indicates the use of chemical dyes. Pay attention to the composition of the product. The smaller the list of ingredients, the more likely it is to say that such cheese is natural.
Smoked braid cheese retains its consumer freshness for 75 days.
Beneficial features
The benefits of smoked braid cheese lie in its rich composition of vitamins and minerals. This product contains quite a lot of calcium and phosphorus, which take an active part in the formation and strengthening of bone tissue. In addition, they improve the condition of hair, nails and teeth.
Use in cooking
Smoked cheese braid makes an excellent stand-alone snack, which many people like to drink with beer. Also, individual strips of cheese can be used as decoration, for example, for salads, appetizers and sandwiches. Many housewives use them to tie rolls or bags of pancakes.
How to make this product at home?
To be completely confident in the quality of this product, you can prepare it at home. Although the recipe is not so simple, the taste of this cheese will definitely delight you! To do this you need to take milk and pepsin. Fresh milk should be left to sour naturally, to speed up the process you can add whey or sour milk.
After this, the milk must be put on low heat until a curd mass forms, and then pepsin is sent there at the rate of 1 g of pepsin per 300 g of liquid. The resulting mixture must be heated to 50 degrees and wait until the flakes begin to form a dense mass. Then, with a wooden spoon, you need to start crushing the cheese mass and forming a ribbon out of it, which you need to lay out in an even layer on the table. After this, strips begin to be cut out of it, the thickness of which should be no more than 5 mm. Now it's time to form a braid, which is then sent into cold water and then into a saline solution. If you want smoked cheese, then it must be sent to a special smokehouse until completely cooked. As a result, to make 1 kg of cheese you need to take 9 liters of milk.
Harm of smoked pigtail cheese and contraindications
Smoked braided cheese can be harmful to people with individual intolerance to the product. It is also worth considering the high calorie content of the product, which means that it should not be eaten in large quantities during weight loss, as well as for obese people. In addition, it is worth considering that pigtail cheese prepared using liquid smoke can be harmful to the body. In addition, it is worth considering that for the preparation of such a product, secondary raw materials are often used, which are harmful to health.
Pigtail cheese is a product popular as a snack for foamy drinks. Smoked or salted - it has interesting taste qualities, has a fibrous structure, pulled into a rope and braided. Does it have any benefits for the body?
Is braid cheese healthy or harmful?
The cheese contains B vitamins and protein. But this product is especially rich in calcium, a microelement that is responsible for the condition of nails, bone tissue, and hair. Due to the increased nutritional value of cheese, it is ideal for the diet of people with a low body mass index.
This is where its benefits to the body end. Salted and smoked pigtail cheese is contraindicated for people suffering from kidney diseases, gastrointestinal tract, with individual intolerance to the components included in the composition, as well as for people with obesity of any degree.
In addition, some manufacturers use liquid smoke when smoking, which is harmful to human health. Also, due to the bright specific taste and aroma of cheese, unscrupulous manufacturers use low-quality raw materials in preparation, without fear that the consumer will notice it.
How to choose braided cheese?
Unlike other cheeses, braid is made not from one type of milk, but from three: cow, goat, sheep. The raw materials are fermented using starter cultures, then heated to form flakes that are used to make cheese strips. The strips are rolled into bundles and intertwined, after which they are placed in brine until ripe. And only then is it smoked in special chambers, where the pigtail cheese acquires that same aroma and taste.
To choose a quality cheese, please note that this product does not have a persistent distinctive aroma; its smell is the same as that of any other fermented milk cheese. The product has a pronounced taste; after eating the cheese, a characteristic spicy-salty aftertaste remains.
Also look at the color of the product; natural pigtail cheese is white or pale yellow. If the color of the cheese is too rich, yellow-brown, this indicates that dyes and other additives were used in its production.
Look at the composition; besides milk, pepsin and rennet, it should not contain any additional products. The taste of cheese is a merit of the preparation method, and not of additional ingredients. This cheese can be stored for no more than two and a half months.
Today, a traditional dish of Armenian cuisine, smoked cheese chechil or braid, is very popular among the population. Its original name means “entangled”, which gives a complete picture of the product. Cheese is made from thin fibers that taste very much like suluguni. As a rule, cheese is made by hand. Among the many cheese products, this product is distinguished by its original shape; thin threads of slightly smoked cheese, pulled into braids, cannot be confused with anything else.
It is the shape, reminiscent of a girl’s braid, that has become the distinctive feature of this smoked cheese. The production of chechil is distinguished by a special technological process; weaving occurs at the very beginning of production, therefore the product cannot be found in the form of a familiar cheese wheel. But not only the appearance of the cheese makes it original; thin smoked fibers help preserve all the beneficial properties of the original product. Pigtail cheese is juicy, has an interesting taste and contains a lot of useful microelements.
At the same time, high quality braid cheese does not have any exclusive aroma; it smells the same as any other fermented milk cheese. But the taste is very piquant: pronounced with a slight pungency and a characteristic smoked-salty aftertaste. The color of the product may vary from milky white to yellow. But you should not buy pigtail cheese with a very bright yellow color - this is a clear sign of the use of chemical dyes.
The main ingredient for the production of smoked braid cheese is fresh cow, sheep or goat milk. It is fermented naturally: after a short heating, a special starter is added to the milk. In order for the product to curdle and turn into cheese, the obligatory rennet or pepsin is added to fermented milk.
The milk is curdled for about 10 minutes, then it is heated again to form flakes. At the same time, the flakes begin to stick together, at which time they are formed into strips approximately 7 centimeters wide. After which the strips are removed from the vat of liquid, cut into thin threads and braids are woven from them. The finished products are again sent to a vat with a special brine, in which they spend some time to finally ripen. Well-ripened chechil is sent to special chambers, where it goes through the smoking stage.
Composition and beneficial properties
Smoked pigtail cheese contains a large amount of phosphorus and calcium, which makes it a very healthy product. After all, it is these elements that are necessary to ensure that hair, nails and bone tissue are always in excellent condition.
Smoked braid cheese (also called chechil cheese) is a traditional Armenian dish. Externally, it is cheese with a fibrous consistency (like) braided in a thick braid. The product is made mainly by hand. On our shelves we also often find such a refined and unique product in taste and form. The shape of the braid is the feature of this product.
It is because of its shape that it is considered special. The braid is braided at the first stages of production, and as a result it simply cannot look any different. Also, the shape is an indicator of the quality of the product itself; the duration of its storage, as well as the preservation of useful and nutritious substances, depends on the number of bunches in the cheese.
It is worth noting that pigtail cheese prepared using the correct technology has the same aroma as a regular fermented milk product, but in terms of taste, everything is not so standard. The product has a piquant taste: a pronounced characteristic salty aftertaste and a spicy-salty taste. The product is either white or slightly yellowish in color - this is an indicator of naturalness. Cheese with brighter tones is an indication of the use of dyes and liquid smoke.
Chemical composition of smoked braid cheese
The composition of the product cannot be called complex, since it is based on sheep, goat or cow's milk. set to sour in a natural manner: it is heated a little, after which a previously sour product is added to it (, etc.). In order to improve the quality of coagulation, rennet or pepsin (one of the essential components of braided cheese) is used.
Within ten minutes, curd granules will be visible. They are put back on the fire and heated until longitudinal fibers begin to appear. The strips are pulled out, collected into bundles and braided. The finished cheese braids are placed in a vat of brine and the product is kept until fully ripened. After ripening, it is placed in chambers for smoking.
Product benefits
The product is especially relevant for people with deficiencies in the body. It is these two elements that are responsible for the health of bone tissue, nails, and hair. It is worth noting that the product has high nutritional values and is recommended for consumption by people with low body weight, because cheese is high in calories (approximately 320 kilocalories per hundred grams of product).
Harm Chechil
A product may not be beneficial, but harmful, if chemical additives, preservatives and dyes were used for its preparation, as well as when liquid smoke was used instead of the natural smoking procedure. This additive and other chemicals have an adverse effect on the human body as a whole.
Calorie content and BZHU
The product has a high calorie content and is also rich in proteins and fats.
Percentage ratio: 24/73/3.
Rules for selection and storage
When choosing a chechil, the first thing you need to pay attention to is the color. It is not recommended to buy options with bright colors, since chemical additives and dyes were most likely used to prepare this product. The second thing you need to focus on is the composition of the product. Chechil cheese should contain as few ingredients as possible (this is an indicator of naturalness).
Chechil under the right storage conditions is suitable for consumption within seventy-five days. Smoked cheese is stored in a cool (from 0 to +4 degrees Celsius) dark place with high humidity up to 87%. In the refrigerator, it is better to place it on the bottom shelf, where it is cooler.
Use in cooking
The product can be used:
- as a stand-alone snack;
- as a decor for sandwiches, appetizers and salads;
- as a filling for baked goods;
- in salads;
- in cream soups (in crushed form).
Cooking chechil at home
In order to be as confident as possible in the quality of the product, it can be prepared at home. Yes, the preparation procedure cannot be called simple, but it is worth it.
Production technology: you need to take fresh milk and put it in a warm place to sour. To make the process happen a little faster, you can add already sour milk product to the milk.
How to make cheese at home? The sour milk is placed on the fire, slightly heated, and pre-prepared rennet is added to it. Heat the milk until it reaches a temperature of fifty degrees. Using a wooden spatula, the cheese mass is crushed to form flakes seven centimeters long. Next, you need to distribute the cheese in an even layer on the table (a monotonous solid strip should form) and cut the tape into strips of equal width (maximum five millimeters wide). Now the ribbons need to be woven into one braid. The finished braid must be sent first to the cold, and then to the brine. If you want to get a smoked product, you need to place the chechil in the smokehouse. In order to get a kilogram of chechil, you need to take nine liters of milk.
If you don’t know what to cook with smoked pigtail cheese, we offer a simple recipe for an incredibly tasty and healthy holiday salad..
Step-by-step recipe: prepare all the necessary components, wash and clean them thoroughly. You need to chop the onion, fillet, carrots and mushrooms into small pieces. Untie the cheese, peel the walnuts.
Separately fry onions, chicken fillet, mushrooms and carrots. For frying, use a small amount of vegetable oil. Place the nuts in a blender and chop them as finely as possible. Place all separately prepared components in a deep plate, add mayonnaise and mix thoroughly, add spices to taste. To present the salad, you need to take a flat plate with a large diagonal. First put lettuce leaves on a plate, then lay out the prepared salad in the form of a ring, and sprinkle generously with cheese cut into strips (it should look like a nest). Place quail eggs (without peel) on top, and place cut chicken eggs in halves around the greens. Decorate chicken eggs in the shape of chickens and chickens (eyes, and carrots with beaks). Bon appetit.