On their travels in Russia, Armenia and Central Asia, Sergy Yukin and his business partner Konstantin Savelyev discovered chechil, a popular smoked string cheese that was often served with beer. After returning home and realizing that the snack was difficult to find in the U.S., they sensed that there could be a market for the cheese, and so they traveled back to Russia to learn how to make it. After visiting three different production plants and purchasing a recipe from two of them, they started a Kickstarter campaign to raise the money to open the first chechil production company in the US.
To make Chechil, pasteurized cow’s milk is made into blocks of curd which are then heated and shaped into distinctive strings, in a method similar to that of other pasta filata cheeses. The braids are then smoked.
Chechil is firm and smooth, and when un-braided and peeled, the strings separate into small threads. It is very salty with a strong hickory smoked taste.
Because this cheese is so salty and smoky, it is ideally paired with a refreshing beer. Try it with a Pilsner Urquell.