A project is being conducted by Hitit University in Çorum to enable the industrial-scale production of Kargı tulum cheese, traditionally prepared using methods over approximately six months, without altering its existing texture.
The tulum cheese, made from the milk of animals grazing in the 2,000-meter-high highlands of Kargı district, is stored in cloth sacks in a cool place.
After approximately six months of processing, the cheese reaches its ideal consistency, is transferred to tulum bags, and shipped to consumers throughout Türkiye.
Dr. Gamze Nur Müjdeci, Assistant Professor in the Food Engineering Department of the Faculty of Engineering at Hitit University, along with her students Şeyma Nur Yiğit and Nilofar Molaei Balov, prepared the "Determination of the Endogenous Yeast Flora of Traditional Kargı Tulum Cheese Project" to investigate how to produce Kargı tulum cheese, which has a geographical indication registration, on a larger scale without altering its traditional structure.
As part of the project that qualified for support from TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey), Dr. Müjdeci and her students visited the facility of Mustafa Döğen, who produces Kargı tulum cheese using traditional methods in Kargı, and examined the production process.
The students also took cheese samples from different points of the production line for use in laboratory studies.
Dr. Müjdeci stated that Kargı tulum cheese is a valuable product due to its production method, registration, and taste.
Müjdeci explained that the project aims to investigate how to transform Kargı tulum cheese into an industrial product without altering its original form, saying, "We will examine the samples we took here in a laboratory environment and isolate the yeasts in Kargı tulum cheese and determine their technological properties. At the end of the project, we aim to obtain a local starter culture for Kargı tulum cheese."
Müjdeci stated that Kargı tulum cheese is produced in the district using entirely authentic methods, adding, "Mr. Mustafa works diligently for these products. He has also put forward his own vision. He has applied for the necessary patents, but he has a boutique business. We actually came here to act as academic intermediaries in how we can adapt this to the industry. The fact that such products are still being produced is very valuable for us. Because they are also valuable assets for our country."
