Black Sea Fondue · Corn & Cheese

Mıhlama (Kuymak)

Photo: E4024 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

The proper way to eat it is to lift a forkful high enough that the cheese stretches into a long, unbroken string — the taller the stretch, the better the mıhlama is considered to be.

Cornmeal is cooked slowly with butter and a local, slightly sour cheese until it turns into a stretchy, bubbling fondue, served straight from its small copper pan with bread for dipping. Trabzon and Rize's mountain restaurants keep it cooking tableside over a portable burner.

Why it's made this way: The Black Sea coast's damp climate and mountain pastures suit both corn cultivation and dairy farming, and mıhlama grew out of that combination as a filling, high-energy dish for the region's fishermen and highland farmers.