Jani Cheese

Jani cheese is a firm, pale yellow curd cheese flecked with caraway seeds, pressed into a flat round whose colour and shape stand for the midsummer sun. It belongs above all to the Ligo festival, when it is eaten with beer through the shortest night, though good markets sell it all year.

What's there

• The round yellow wheel - the sun-coloured, flat pressed cheese.
• Caraway seeds - the signature flecking through the curd.
• Midsummer tables - the cheese with beer on the Ligo night.
• Market dairy stalls - where it is sold fresh and by the wheel.

When to go

Around midsummer in late June for its full meaning, though markets sell it year-round. Buy from a dairy stall at the Central Market for the real thing.

Things to know

It is a mild, firm caraway cheese rather than a strong or complex one, so it is pleasant more than dramatic. Away from midsummer it is just a nice market cheese. Its real appeal is the tradition it carries, best felt during the Ligo season.

Nearby

The Central Market is the easiest place to buy it; it belongs on the same table as Latvian rye and beer.