Yozgat Canak Cheese Product Description and Distinctive Features: Yozgat Çanak Cheese is a distinctive product unique to Yozgat, crafted from the milk of sheep, goats, and cows that graze on natural vegetation and drink from local water sources across the central and surrounding districts. This cheese is lightly aged and semi-fat. Typically, families either use milk from their own animals or cooperate with neighboring families through the milk house method to produce the cheese. The name of the cheese comes from the traditional clay container it is formed in. After being pressed into these clay dishes, the cheese is buried in sand to mature. The production process also involves the use of homemade yeast. Production Method: Milk, obtained through manual milking, is filtered into cheese-making containers using cloth bags known as "süzek". After filtering, the milk is not heated. If the milk has cooled after milking, it is gently warmed before fermentation. The ideal fermentation temperature is between 32-35°C. Once the temperature is adjusted, the milk ferments in the same containers it was filtered into. For fermentation, 100 ml of yeast is added to every 10 kg of milk. The yeast is slowly incorporated while continuously stirring the milk. After thorough mixing, the container is placed on a cushion and wrapped in a thick cloth to rest for 2 to 5 hours until the curd forms. When the curd sets, it is cut into four sections with a ladle and left to rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Then, it is transferred into cloth bags made from fine, permeable fabric capable of holding between 1 to 3 kg of curd. These bags are hung high for 30 to 120 minutes until the whey stops dripping. The pressed curd is then placed into wide basins, cut into large pieces with a knife, and salted. The salt quantity is adjusted to achieve moderate saltiness, using about 75 grams of salt per 1 kg of cheese. Fine-grained rock salt, thoroughly crushed, is preferred, with a little extra added to ensure the proper level of saltiness. The salted and chopped cheese is tightly packed into a thin bag, compressed by hand, and securely tied. It undergoes a second pressing in a cool environment (between 12-16°C). Smooth stones weighing approximately 10 kg per 1 kg of cheese are used as weights. This secondary pressing is known as "tercan," "tecin," "tecen," or "bastırık." The pressing duration varies from 2 to 7 days. After pressing, the cheese is emptied into a basin, crumbled by hand, and sprinkled with a little more salt (25 grams per 1 kg of cheese). The cheese, prepared for pressing, is placed in small portions into dishes and firmly pressed by hand to eliminate any air pockets, as exposure to air can cause rapid spoilage. Once the dish is filled, a small amount of additional salt is sprinkled on top, and it is securely wrapped with a clean cloth. The cheese is left to rest for 2-3 days, then flipped and aged for another 3-5 days. Afterwards, the dish cover is removed, washed, and dried vine leaves or a clean cloth is placed in direct contact with the cheese before it is covered with a solid dough. A cloth is tied around the dough, the dishes are flipped again, and half or the entire dish is buried in sand for maturation. The sand used for burying the dishes should be fine, slightly gravelly, and mildly moist. When there are only a few dishes, sand is spread directly on the ground; for a small number, the sand is placed in a container where the dishes are buried. The maturation process lasts about 4 months in cool and slightly humid conditions. After maturation, the cheese is vacuum-sealed and stored at temperatures between 0-4°C for 2-3 months.