Savouring Nepal’s Churpi—the hardest cheese in the world

If you are a cheese lover, you might probably be aware of Nepal’s churpi, the hardest cheese in the world! Often known as Himalayan chewing gum, this cheese is nothing like your regular cheese. This one is natural, healthy, and helps people stay warm in extreme winters. People living in the Himalayan regions of Nepal have a habit of chewing this every morning to bear the extreme low temperatures.

Where to find it?

Tipling, a beautiful village in Nepal, is known for making churpi. The farmers here prepare this cheese from the milk of chauri (also called chauri gai in Nepal), a cross between a yak and a cow. Though churpi has a smoky fragrance, it tastes extremely sweet. And the interesting part is, you chew it like you would chew a chewing gum, though it has health benefits as well, as churpi is healthy, naturally sweet and good for your teeth.
To find and taste this cheese, people travel to remote parts of the Himalayas from all over the world. Farmers in Nepal have been making it for centuries. One of the prime features of the world’s hardest cheese is that it keeps for a long time; by long time, we mean up to 20 years! The farmers stash the cheese in a special yak skin to keep it fresh.

Churpi comes in two variants, hard and soft, and it all depends on how much it has been dried. A little brown in colour, hard churpi contains healthy fats and essential nutrients and protein as it is made of yak milk. On the other hand, soft churpi is used as fillings while making momos and soups and several other vegetable delicacies in the region. People also buy it as dog treats.
How to eat a churpi?

If you thought you could eat a piece of churpi like your regular cheese, you need to know this. Here's how to eat it—you need to take a bite or piece and let it sit in your mouth for about 5 to 7 minutes so that it can moisten up and then, you start chewing it. If you don’t follow the steps. you might not enjoy the flavours.

Depending on the quality, a piece of churpi can last for nearly three hours!