I like to sit in the front seat of the taxi so I can enjoy the sights out the window. Sometimes I see things that surprise me. One day, I saw a goat torso waving at me… I had to stop and take photos. It’s cheese made inside a goat. It is the goat of goat cheese. Some might even say the G.O.A.T., greatest of all time, of goat’s cheese.
A “tulum” cheese that has been cut into.
This cheese is called “tulum” or “goatskin/sheepskin” cheese. There are local varieties with some being placed in brine after cutting, akin to Greek feta. The cheese is aged for three to six months inside the skin.
The cheese is fairly strong in flavor but not as much as one would think.
Foreigners warned me that the streets would run with blood. They told me to get out of town for “bloody Eid” which is the second Eid, Eid-ul-Adha. As Eid will be in early October this year, I wanted to share my experience from last year. A warning: while I am not going to post the most graphic photos, some of you may think that the ones I’ve chosen are still TOO graphic. If so, please stop reading now.
Forcing the bull to the ground.
Early on the slaughtering morning, we set out for a walk around the neighborhood. All along the streets, lots of groups of men were butchering cattle. There were also lots of “professional” butchers with giant knives ready to butcher for a fee. In reality, once an animal was forced to its knees and had its throat cut, the butchering only took about ten minutes (everything is done halal). Everything was very organized and there was a constant washing and sweeping of the streets. Everyone worked together. The hides were stacked up on rickshaws and taken away.
The streets are cleaned constantly during butchering.
Perhaps the most surprising thing for an expat started a few days before the butchering. I came down one day to find a doe eyed bull tethered in the garage. Then, after the day of slaughtering, there were only the hooves and a newly washed patch of cement where once the bull had been.
Butchering is done on the streets.
While plastic shopping bags are banned in Bangladesh, I did see during Eid, lots of beef being sold in clear plastic bags. To the Bangladeshis, this is a big family holiday. I wish them a happy Eid!
A professional butcher for hire.
The Bangladeshis told me that slaughtering a cow (actually, they meant a bull — read about my visit to the cow market) was traditional. Normally, a bull or goat (if your circumstances are lesser) or camel (if you have lots of money), is kept tethered until it is slaughtered. Then the meat is shared out to family, friends, and poor people as an act of charity.
The “cow” is cut up quickly after the skin is peeled open.
During Eid, the town is empty as everyone is off with their families. Apparently, Bogota also empties out in December for the same reason. And then the traffic is better, a stark contrast to the traffic in Dhaka.
