Teleme cheese facts for kids
Teleme is a special type of semi-soft cheese that comes from the San Francisco Bay Area in California, USA. It was created by Serafino Iacono before World War II.
The Story of Teleme Cheese
Teleme cheese was inspired by cheese made by Greek immigrants in California. The idea for this cheese actually goes back a long time, to nomadic people called the Yoruk/Turkmen Turks. These people lived in the mountains and plateaus of southern and southeastern Turkey. They still make a similar cheese today!
They make it from fresh, warm goat's milk. They use natural ingredients found nearby to make the milk turn into cheese. One of these special ingredients is the milky sap from a fig fruit.
Where Teleme Was First Made
The very first place Teleme cheese was made for sale was in Tomales, California. The company that made it was called New Sonoma Creamery. They sold the cheese under the name "Tomales Bay Teleme Cheese." The building in Tomales where they first made it is still there today!
Later, the cheese making moved south to Los Banos, California. New Sonoma Creamery stopped making cheese in the late 1960s.
Teleme Returns!
After some years, Teleme cheese came back to the market! The Peluso Cheese Company brought it back. Frank Peluso, the owner, had helped the Iacono family make Teleme cheese for many years.
Today, you can find this cheese sold as "Peluso's Teleme Cheese" and "Peluso's Tomales Bay Teleme." It is still made in Los Banos, California.
