Jani Cheese
The round, caraway-studded yellow cheese made for midsummer - a symbol of the sun and the taste of the Latvian Ligo festival.
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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 you actually see
- 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.
Honest expectations
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.
What to pack for Jani Cheese
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
