Beyaz peynir substitutes

The single closest supermarket cheese. Bulgarian feta is made from sheep milk or a sheep and cow blend, brined the same way, and has the dense creamy body and clean lactic tang that beyaz peynir has.

Best for

Turkish breakfast plate, borek and pide fillings, menemen, salads such as coban salatasi, watermelon and cheese

It is usually a little saltier and slightly sharper, so soak the block in cold water for 20-30 minutes, or in milk if you want it milder and creamier still, then pat it dry. Buy it in brine from a deli counter or tin rather than pre-crumbled in a plastic tub, because the crumbles are dry, salty and chalky and behave nothing like fresh Turkish cheese.

The mildest and creamiest of the commonly sold fetas, usually sheep milk from Corsica or the Basque region, which makes it the best stand-in for a young, delicate beyaz peynir.

Best for

Turkish breakfast, spreading on bread with honey or pekmez, salads, gentle fillings

Less tangy and less salty than Greek or Bulgarian feta, which is right for breakfast but can taste flat inside a borek where you want the cheese to push back against the pastry. If you are using it as a filling, add a quarter teaspoon of salt per cup of crumbled cheese and a spoonful of chopped dill or parsley.

The most available feta everywhere, and usable once you take the edge off it. Greek feta is made from sheep milk with up to 30 percent goat, which gives it a firmer crumble and a stronger flavour.

Best for

salads, borek and pastry fillings, baked dishes, menemen

Straight from the packet it is noticeably saltier and more goaty-pungent than beyaz peynir, so a breakfast plate made with it tastes sharp rather than mellow. Soak cubes in cold water for 30 minutes, changing the water once, then drain well. It also crumbles more and creams less, so in a filling it stays in visible chunks rather than melting into a soft layer.

A pressed, salted, lightly aged Italian sheep milk cheese that is firm, milky and mildly salty, which puts it very close to the drier styles of beyaz peynir used for cooking.

Best for

borek and pastry fillings, grating over vegetables, salads, baked dishes

Drier and firmer than beyaz peynir with much less tang, so it reads as clean and milky rather than sour. That dryness is an advantage in borek, where a wet cheese makes the layers soggy, and a disadvantage on a breakfast plate where you want something soft to spread. It also holds its shape completely in the oven and will not go stringy.

The right texture from a completely different tradition. Both are fresh, white, mildly milky and crumbly in exactly the way beyaz peynir is, and both are cheap and widely stocked.

Best for

borek fillings, breakfast plates, crumbling over vegetables, stuffed pastries

The gap is seasoning, not structure: these cheeses are barely salted and have no brine tang at all, so on their own they taste bland and slightly sweet. Crumble, then toss with a quarter teaspoon of fine salt and a teaspoon of lemon juice per cup and leave 10 minutes. After that they are surprisingly convincing. They release a little water in the oven, so drain in a sieve first for fillings.

The option for anyone who needs a cheese that holds its shape absolutely, or a dairy-free filling. Both are neutral white blocks that crumble and refuse to melt.

Best for

borek fillings, baked pastries, dairy-free cooking, stuffed vegetables

Neither has any tang or salt, so seasoning is mandatory, and even then the flavour is plainer than real cheese. Paneer is faintly squeaky; press firm tofu under a weight for 20 minutes first, then crumble and season. Add a tablespoon of yogurt or, for a dairy-free version, a teaspoon of nutritional yeast per cup to give the filling some savoury depth. In a borek with plenty of herbs and butter this works well; on a breakfast plate it does not.

Listed with a caveat, because it is often the only Mediterranean brined cheese in a small supermarket. Grated, it can fill a borek and it brings the right level of salt.

Best for

borek at a push, grilling or frying, salty savoury fillings

Halloumi is rubbery and squeaky by design and does not crumble or soften, so it stays as distinct springy shreds inside the pastry instead of forming a creamy layer. It is also considerably saltier, so soak it and skip the added salt. This is the weakest option here for anything resembling beyaz peynir's texture, and a poor choice for a breakfast plate or a spread.