Name: Home-Style Megruli Sulguni from Young Imeretian Cheese
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 h 37 min
Cuisine: Georgian
Ingredients: 500 g young Imeretian-style cheese, fresh and low-salt, made from pasteurized milk and kept refrigerated; about 3–5 days old if the cheesemaker gives an age, sliced 5–7 mm thick; 1.5 L potable water, for heating to 75–80 °C; do not boil; Cold potable water and ice, as needed to cool the shaped cheese; 1,000 g (about 1 L) potable water, cold; 220 g fine non-iodized salt; dissolve fully to make about 18% brine by total solution weight

A low round of layered Georgian-style stretched-curd cheese with thick slices on a wooden table.

Yieldabout 450 g; 6 tasting portions of roughly 75 g

Preparation20 minutes

Cooking15 minutes

Cooling and brining1,500 minutes

Jump to recipe ↓

The dish

About Home-Style Megruli Sulguni from Young Imeretian Cheese

მეგრული სულგუნი · about 450 g · 6 tasting portions · Moderate · 25 hours 35 minutes

Megruli Sulguni, also called Megrelian Sulguni, is a regional Georgian stretched-curd cheese. The registered Megruli product is tied to milk collected and processed in designated Samegrelo municipalities and follows a specified production method. This home adaptation uses young Imeretian-style cheese as its starting point, so it does not claim protected geographical indication status or reproduce the full registered method.

The starting cheese needs to soften and pull into strands in hot water. Once it becomes cohesive and elastic, folding the mass several times creates the visible layers associated with Sulguni. A low round disk is the chosen shape here; smoking and added herbs are separate variants and are not included.

The long passive time comes from a brief ice-water cooling step and a 24-hour brine. Use only refrigerated cheese labelled as made from pasteurized milk, keep the brine at or below 4 °C, and check the cheese’s centre with a clean probe before brining. Salt uptake and finished weight depend on the starting cheese, so the nutrition estimate is only a guide.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

მეგრული სულგუნი · about 450 g · 6 tasting portions · Moderate · 25 hours 35 minutes

Cheese

500 gyoung Imeretian-style cheese, fresh and low-salt, made from pasteurized milk and kept refrigerated; about 3–5 days old if the cheesemaker gives an age, sliced 5–7 mm thick

Stretching liquid

1.5 Lpotable water, for heating to 75–80 °C; do not boil

Cooling bath

Cold potable water and ice, as needed to cool the shaped cheese

Cold brine

1,000 g(about 1 L) potable water, cold
220 gfine non-iodized salt; dissolve fully to make about 18% brine by total solution weight

Method

Prepare the cheese and brine. Wash your hands and sanitize the knife, board, pan, bowl, thermometer, tongs and brining container. Keep the cheese refrigerated until needed, and check that its package states it was made from pasteurized milk. Weigh the brine water and salt, dissolve the salt completely in the cold water, cover and refrigerate at or below 4 °C.
Test whether the cheese will stretch. Cut off a small strip. Heat the 1.5 L stretching water to 75–80 °C without boiling. Dip the test strip briefly; continue only if it softens and stretches without crumbling. If it stays firm or breaks apart, stop and choose a different young, low-salt cheese rather than adding acid or guessing at a fix.
Soften and stretch the cheese. Slice the remaining cheese 5–7 mm thick. Turn off the heat and add the slices to the hot water in batches. Use a wooden spoon or heat-safe utensils to fold and knead gently for 7–10 minutes, keeping the water hot but not boiling, until the cheese becomes one glossy, elastic mass. Discard the stretching water.
Fold and shape. With clean heat-safe gloves or utensils, fold the mass inward at least four times to form layers. Shape it into a low round disk and tuck the seams underneath. Do not add herbs, smoke or other ingredients in this version.
Cool and brine. Transfer the disk to a clean ice-water bath and cool until its centre reaches 4 °C or below, checking with a sanitized probe thermometer. Drain it, then submerge it fully in the prepared 18% brine. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours at or below 4 °C.
Drain and store. Remove the cheese from the brine, drain and pat dry with clean paper towel. Wrap it or place it in a clean covered container and refrigerate at or below 4 °C. Serve cold or use in cooked dishes. Consume within 3 days; discard if it has been above 4 °C for more than 2 hours.

Excerpt

Megruli Sulguni is a layered stretched-curd cheese associated with Samegrelo. This accessible home version starts with refrigerated, pasteurized young Imeretian-style cheese, then softens, folds and reshapes it in hot water before a chilled brine. It is inspired by the regional technique; it is not a protected-origin product.

Practical guidance

Choose a young, mild, low-salt cheese that is still pliable. The short hot-water test is a useful go/no-go check: a suitable piece should soften and pull into a strand. A dry, mature or heavily salted cheese may stay grainy or break. Do not try to rescue it by adding vinegar, lemon juice or extra heat.

Keep the water between 75 and 80 °C while working; boiling water can make handling less controlled and may cause the cheese to lose its cohesive texture. Work in small batches and use wooden utensils or heat-safe gloves. Fold the cheese while it is warm and pliable, then cool it promptly before the brine.

The 18% brine follows the concentration range in the Megruli product specification, but home brining is done at refrigerator temperature for food safety. Use a narrow container so the disk stays fully submerged. Brining time and the saltiness of the finished cheese depend on its thickness and starting salt level. This household method does not reproduce the certified Megruli process.

Nutrition per serving

Nutrition per serving (approximate)

Serving size: about 75 g (one-sixth of the estimated 450 g finished cheese)
Energy: approximately 225 kcal
Carbohydrates: 2 g
Protein: 17 g
Fat: 17 g
Fibre: 0 g
Sodium: approximately 500 mg; varies with the starting cheese and brine uptake

Allergens and food safety

Contains milk. Use refrigerated cheese made from pasteurized milk; do not use raw-milk cheese for this home method. Wash hands and sanitize food-contact equipment before starting. Keep the brine and finished cheese at or below 4 °C. Use a clean probe thermometer to confirm the centre has cooled to 4 °C or below before brining. Refrigerate between servings, discard if left above 4 °C for more than 2 hours, and consume within 3 days. Do not reuse the brine.

To serve

Slice or tear the chilled cheese and serve as part of a Georgian cheese board, or grate it into khachapuri and other cooked dishes.
Keep leftovers covered at or below 4 °C and use within 3 days.