A hard Balkan cheese — sometimes from raw ewe milk — with a smooth dry rind, an amber-coloured, moderately firm interior, and no holes. Its flavour is pleasantly piquant and slightly salty. Stretched-curd in manufacture, it needs controlled ripening — and where raw milk is used, rigorous milk hygiene and testing to ensure pathogens are absent. Its excellent keeping quality made it a traditional pastoral staple. It grates well, making it a common ingredient in cooked dishes. It is sold both young and matured, with flavour deepening as it ages.