CHEESE NIRVANA

(cheese vendors along perimeter of the Spice Bazaar)


(the Izmir Tulumu cheese meets the knife and, at right, another type is in strips, along the lines of string cheese- but infinitely tastier)

This cheese on the left is my favorite type here -- I was told by the seller that it's made in Izmir (Southwestern Turkey), and is known as "Izmir Tulumu." It is a semi-hard cheese, with salty and fatty notes-- I'd liken it to a Parmesan with funk. Izmir Tulumu is thought to be "defective" if the holes aren't as big as a bird's eye . . . It is made with sheep and cow's milk -- with varying amounts of both milks. With an olive, apple or piece of simit, it is perfectly unctuous and powerful. A meal of a cheese. It's a dairy-dominated week here for me. I just can't help myself! My pants and my hips will regret this gnoshing later . . . For now, I'm in cheese nirvana, where the tulumus and the cheesecakes run free, with little fairy wings, playing harps and flutes till the sun sets.