Cheese

Cheese is a form of preserved milk, created by the process of separating the solid curds of milk from the liquid whey, with numerous varieties thereafter derived from subsequent processing and preparation.

It is widely consumed across the continent of Ahlus.

## Types of Cheese

While culinary texts and historical adages arguably rightly proclaim that the finest cheeses of the continent have been historically, and continue to in present day, be produced within the borders of Atralran, the production of cheese is not endemic to the region. In reality, most parts of the continent produce their own varieties of the food stuff, using a variety of methods.

### The Lotus Basin

By nature of its proximity to the Realm of Atralran, the Lotus Basin serves as a major importer of Atral cheeses, but likewise produces its own variants.

* Gamy Orchard, a washed-rind cheese made by immersing and mildly fermented in apple cider, giving the finished product an intense odour
* Hopmellow, a firm granular cheese stored in a rind made of toasted hops or rolled in hop dust
* Lotus Sweet, a pale cream cheese laced through with candied flower petals and ripples of port wine or brandy

### Tourmalini'i

The ambient heat of the jungles of Tourmalini'i provide ideal curing and maturation temperatures for some varieties of cheese, while making the creation of others all but impossible without use of the arcane.

* Canastra, a raw cow's milk cured under strict conditions that provides a mildly spicy, full bodied flavour
* Minas, a matured cheese cured naturally in open air and served fresh while white and tender, often lightly salted

### The Hoarfrost Expanse

While not inhibitory towards the production of cheeses, the poor grazing lands of much of the Hoarfrost Expanse mean that shepherds often turn instead to hardier beasts in place of those domesticated elsewhere in the continent. Aurochs and bison are not uncommon, but prove more difficult to reliably milk than goats and reindeers.

* Amalac, a goat's milk cheese mixed with caramelised brown sugar and often used in dessert dishes
* Llajolt, a fresh cheese usually made from the beestings of a goat or reindeer, subsequently takes a naturally dark yellow hue
* Malzaz, a semi-hard brined cheese studded with caraway seeds
* Nalmanost, a soft soured cheese also flavoured by means of the inclusion of caraway seeds during the maturation process

### Atralran Refounded

Cheeseries throughout Atralran use milk from cows, goats and sheep alike to produce a blistering number of varieties, most commonly sold by the pound by specialty and commonplace dealers alike. Particularly notable varieties include:

* Bluecrown, a whole milk cheese with a creamy mushroom-scented interior flecked with blue mould
* Crescre, a traditional farmhouse semi-hard cheese made with high-fat mare's milk with a rich and nutty flavour layered with scents of lanolin
* Fesson, a moist and soft surface-ripened cow's milk cheese most commonly enjoyed heated through with a sprig of rosemary or penny cress
* Ortiox, a hard cow's milk cheese matured while wrapped in nettle leaves which impart a light botanical flavour
* Vireyote, a yellow mild cheese populated with small round holes known as eyes created during the production process

### The Aethelwald

The cuisine of the Aethelwald is, in many places, influenced highly by the availability of produce in the immediate surroundings. As such, the various small communities have developed a number of regional variations to their cooking, cheese included amongst them. Nonetheless, some products are universally enjoyed, even if the exact recipe might vary from place to place.

* Mistmilk, a cheese ripened either in caves or by sealing within tree trunks, it is near translucent in colouration when sliced thinly
* Wickpine, a smoking substrate rather than a specific cheese type, cheeses smoked using lumber from Candlegrove Forest maintains its freshness and stability far longer than other woods, and are growing in popularity in Whittengrove in particular

### The Ironfangs

While valleys exist through the Ironfangs that provide grazing land for cattle, the terrain has historically proven prohibitive towards large herds for commercial production of cheeses. In spite of this, the Ironfangs are famed for one particular variety, that of Qalhue, a semi-soft cheese that crumbles easily and commonly spiced with chives and wild garlic.

### The Hollow Concord

Traditional cuisine of the Hollow Concord features a tetrad of wheat, olives, seafood and citrus, and all four have found a place in the production of cheese in the region. Besides that of Atralran, the cheeses of the Hollow Concord are considered by many to be amongst the finest of the continent.

* Colk, a white cheese traditionally made of a blend of goat's and sheep's milk and aged in brine to produce a grainy hole-free texture
* Gralzry, a moist and soft cheese commonly melted alongside flour and oil to produce a base for a number of other dishes
* Kalallono, a hard salty white cheese usually softened before consumption by frying in olive oil alongside anchovies and other small filleted fish
* Mizithra, a whey cheese that is treated with lemon juice, salt-dried and grated over a number of dishes ranging from honeyed desserts to olive-based meat stews
* Pippero, a catch-all term used to describe any cheese flavoured with Giadoese peppers, usually used as a suffix to the type of cheese used in the production (e.g. Colkpippero or Kalallonopippero)

### The Timberlands

Fermented flavours are common throughout the Timberlands, and the traditional cheeses of the region are no different. Alongside this, beets and berries are often used to produce a variety of fanciful colourations to the most frequently enjoyed types.

* Bruztzo, a cow's dairy cheese made without rennet, yielding a dry, crumbling texture
* Merchant's Malt, a stretched-curd cheese flavoured with roasted grains and famed for its coinpurse-like shape formed when the cheese is hung to mature it
* Olo, a sour milk cheese made from a mixture of raw quark and fresh milk, often finished with beetroot juice to give marbles of rippled pink

### Aviacrest

Heavy uses of spices cultivated within the earthmotes of the cities by skilful botanists punctuate the produce of Aviacrest, from stews and meats to cheeses and fruits.

* Amberrind, a soft and tender cheese with a bloomed amber rind. Sweetened during maturation by dousing the cheese in orange juice, it is typically eaten as a dessert
* Peppervale, a traditionally smoked cheese studded with green, red and black peppercorns, which provide the cheese's primary flavour profile
* Tazmurit, a pressed cheese most commonly presented in large flattened discs for efficiency of storage and transport