Yoghurt
is an important element in Turkish cuisine. In fact, the English word yoghurt or yogurt derives from the Turkish word yourt. Yoghurt can accompany almost all meat dishes (kebabs, köfte), vegetable dishes (especially fried eggplant, courgette, spinach with minced meat etc.), meze and a speciality called mant (folded triangles of dough containing minced meat). In villages, yoghurt is regularly eaten with rice or bread. A thicker, higher-fat variety, süzme yourt or "strained yoghurt", is made by straining the yoghurt curds from the whey. One of the most common Turkish drinks, ayran, is made from yoghurt. Also, yoghurt is often used in the preparation of cakes, some soups and pastries.
Turkey produces many varieties of cheese, mostly from sheep's milk. In general, these cheeses are not long matured, with a comparatively low fat content. The production of many kinds of cheese is local to particular regions.
Beyaz peynir is a salty cheese taking its name from its white color ("white cheese"). It is analogous to Greek feta. This is produced in styles ranging from unmatured cheese curds to a quite strong mature version. It is eaten plain (e.g. as part of the traditional Turkish breakfast), used in salads, and incorporated into cooked foods such as menemen, börek and pide.
Çökelek is one of two types of unsalted white cheese, made by boiling the whey left over from making beyaz peynir. There are many regional varieties of çökelek. Some are eaten fresh while others are preserved, either by storage in goatskin bags or pottery jars, or by drying in the sun. Kurut and ke are regional names for dried bricks of yoghurt made from low-fat milk or from çökelek made from buttermilk.
Lor is the other type of unsalted white cheese, similarly made from the whey left over from kaar manufacture. Lor is used in traditional desserts made from unsalted cheese like hömerim.
Kasar is Turkey's other ubiquitous cheese, a moderately fatty sheep's cheese similar to the Greek kasseri, sometimes marketed as "Turkish cheddar", being closer in consistency and taste to mild cheddar-style cheese than other Turkish cheeses. Less matured kaar, called fresh kaar, is widely consumed as well.