Tulum Cheese: Turkey's Skin-Wrapped, Cave-Aged Tradition

Named After the Container, Not the Cheese

In the village of Divle, in Karaman's Ayrancı district, a sinkhole opens straight down into the ground. At the bottom, in a cave that holds a steady temperature of about four degrees Celsius, cheeses packed into animal-skin casings age for five to six months. The word tulum refers to that casing, not to a flavor or a recipe.

Traditionally the casing is a whole goat or lamb skin, turned inside out and used as a sealed bag. Today cloth sacks, plastic drums and earthenware jars serve the same purpose. Whatever the material, the goal is identical: keep the curd pressed tight and away from air while it ages.

From Crumbled Curd to a Sealed Block

Production starts with rennet-set milk. The curd is cut, drained, sliced, washed and crumbled by hand, then salted. The salted crumbs are packed into the casing in handfuls and pressed down firmly, leaving no air pockets.

That airless environment lets the cheese ripen evenly instead of growing surface mold at random. In traditional skin casings, natural microorganisms carried by the raw milk and the skin itself drive the ripening and give the cheese its characteristic bite.

Three Regions, Three Methods

Erzincan tulum is made from raw sheep's milk, aged at least three to four months in cold storage or suitable caves, and holds protected geographical indication status in Turkey. Divle Obruğu tulum, from Karaman, blends goat, cow and sheep milk in a 1:1:8 ratio and ages five to six months inside the Divle sinkhole cave, where its rind turns blue, then white, then brick red. İzmir tulum breaks the underground pattern entirely: the curd goes into tin drums, not skin, and cures in whey brine for at least four months in a cold room.

Aging length and milk source together set the salt level and sharpness: Erzincan tulum can carry up to 5,000 milligrams of salt per 100 grams of dry matter, while Divle Obruğu measures 2,900 to 3,800 milligrams per 100 grams.

How It's Eaten

Tulum cheese most often appears crumbled at the Turkish breakfast table, drizzled with olive oil or spread on bread. A pinch stirred into lentil soup balances its sharpness against the broth.

It also shows up crumbled into gözleme and savory pastries, or scattered over kavurma and potato dishes. Because texture hardens with age, longer-matured tulum is best crumbled fine before it goes into a dish.