A soft white cheese made from camel milk, a Nouakchott dairy speciality. Camel milk resists ordinary cheesemaking, and the Tiviski dairy, founded in 1989, worked with French researchers to make it curdle reliably at all.
Camel milk will not curdle with ordinary rennet — the cheese exists because a dairy and a research institute developed a specific coagulant and calcium regime for it, and the milk itself is not sold in most of the world.
What goes into it
- camel milk
- a specific camel chymosin or plant coagulant
- calcium chloride
- salt
How it is made
Camel milk lacks the kappa-casein structure that lets cow’s milk form a firm curd, so ordinary rennet leaves it a soupy mess. The dairy uses a camel-specific chymosin with added calcium, at a controlled temperature, to force a curd that can be drained and pressed. The problem was a research project before it was a cheese.
How long it takes: hours to set and drain, then eaten fresh
How it is eaten
Fresh with bread and dates, or crumbled into salads.
History
Camel milk resists ordinary cheesemaking; the Tiviski dairy in Nouakchott, founded in 1989, worked with French researchers to make it curdle reliably.
Frequently asked questions
What is Camel cheese?
Camel cheese is a cheese & dairy from Mauritania: soft white cheese made from camel milk, a Nouakchott dairy speciality. Camel milk resists ordinary cheesemaking; the Tiviski dairy in Nouakchott, founded in 1989, worked with French researchers to make it curdle reliably.
How is Camel cheese made?
Camel milk lacks the kappa-casein structure that lets cow’s milk form a firm curd, so ordinary rennet leaves it a soupy mess. The dairy uses a camel-specific chymosin with added calcium, at a controlled temperature, to force a curd that can be drained and pressed. The problem was a research project before it was a cheese. It takes hours to set and drain, then eaten fresh.
Can I make Camel cheese at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. Camel milk will not curdle with ordinary rennet — the cheese exists because a dairy and a research institute developed a specific coagulant and calcium regime for it, and the milk itself is not sold in most of the world.
What goes into Camel cheese?
Camel milk, a specific camel chymosin or plant coagulant, calcium chloride, salt.
How is Camel cheese eaten?
Fresh with bread and dates, or crumbled into salads.
