🧀 Chhurpi
Also known as: churpi, durkha
A hard dried Himalayan cheese made from the milk of yaks or chauri (yak-cow hybrids), often from buttermilk; it is sucked slowly like a hard candy.
Chhurpi is a traditional Himalayan cheese found in Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet and India’s Sikkim and Darjeeling. It is made from the milk of yaks and chauri (yak–cow hybrids), and also from cow’s milk. There is a soft kind, similar to curd cheese, and a very hard kind — one of the hardest cheeses in the world.
Hard chhurpi is usually made from the buttermilk left after churning butter: it is heated, the curd is separated, wrapped in cloth and pressed, then cut into small bars and dried for a long time, sometimes over smoke. Threaded on a string, the pieces, weighing about 75 g on average, keep for months without refrigeration. According to the FAO, Bhutanese chhurpi contains about 8% moisture, and almost all of its dry matter is protein.
Hard chhurpi is not eaten like ordinary cheese: it is sucked and chewed for a long time, like a hard sweet — herders and travellers use it in the mountains to keep their mouths moist. Soft chhurpi is added to soups, curries and sauces. Today hard Himalayan cheese sticks are also known as dog chews.
How it connects to milk
🧀 Chhurpi → made from → 🥛 Yak milk → type of → 🥛 Milk
Links
- Made from
- 🥛 Yak milk
- How it is made
- 🔄 Spray drying
- Where it is traditional
- 🌍 Himalayas and Tibet
- Which peoples make it
- 🧑🤝🧑 Tibetans, 🧑🤝🧑 Sherpas
- Product type
- 🏺 Traditional dairy products
- Part of
- 🧀 Cheese
Frequently asked questions
What milk is chhurpi made from?
From the milk of yaks and chauri (yak–cow hybrids), as well as cow’s milk; hard chhurpi is often made from buttermilk.
Why is chhurpi so hard?
It is pressed and dried for a long time to about 8% moisture, so it becomes almost rock-hard and keeps for a long time.
How do you eat chhurpi?
Hard chhurpi is sucked and chewed for hours, like a hard sweet; soft chhurpi is added to soups and sauces.
Similar
🪭 Rushan · 🧀 Ricotta · 🧀 Halloumi · 🧶 Oaxaca cheese · 🧀 Leipäjuusto · 🧀 Mozzarella
ℹ️ Dairy products contain lactose and milk proteins: if you are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk protein, ask a doctor.
Sources
- FAO — The technology of traditional milk products in developing countries, раздел 7.6.6 Chhuga or Chhurpi
- Wikipedia — Chhurpi