Greek cheeses are a harmony of flavors and tradition. Katerina Karsioti presents 10 types of cheese that will capture your taste.
From Macedonia, the islands of the North Aegean, Evia and Messinia to the high mountains of Pindos and Crete, 10 Greek cheeses land on your table and “bewitch” with a taste that has its roots in the mountains…
Cheese-making… an art that lives in the high mountains and in steep places with the milk remaining authentic directly from the neighboring producers of each region.
The art of cheese-making is long and originates from the mountainous parts of Greece, where people started producing their own cheeses at home.
In itself, it is an endless field of study that travels you to unmatched flavors with the scent of Greece, as well as to unique landscapes climbing high to the peaks.
In addition, an art with a future as the more technology and know-how progress, the merrier cheese varieties you will have on your table, more different and special, for every taste and every preference, and certainly Greek.
Some rich in fat but less, with soft, hard and semi-hard textures, “garbed” in spices and savory touches , which can be savored ,either plain, or in extra virgin olive oil, or in combination with dishes of your preference.
Kasseri, graviera, kopanisti, anthotyro, manouri, mizithra, kefalotyri, katiki, metsovone and of course, feta are just some of the dozens of cheeses produced in our country, different in each region.
In every house, at every table are “milestones” and adored by almost everyone.
The variety that now exists is enormous, with simpler options, but also others leaving you “in awe”, simply because of their exceptional originality.
Your grandparents will definitely tell you stories about Greek cheeses such as the delicious mizithra, but also about the luscious graviera and feta that they would produce in the village, with the flavors being as authentic and traditional as their art.
In Amfilochia, Kefalograviera has a history… and abundant taste
At the edge of the Amvrakikos gulf, Amfilochia hosts and feeds the sheep and goats of the region.
Their milk is rich in fats but also in flavors, resulting in a series of hard cheeses, one of which is kefalograviera.
As its name suggests, it is a mixture of kefalotyri and graviera, famous and delicious.
It is made from goat’s and sheep’s milk and you enjoy it unaltered as it melts in your mouth.
Like similar Greek cheeses, It also participates in cooking, but, really, the accompaniment with fruit, fresh bread and olive oil, nuts and anything else you can imagine can lift off your taste experience.
The PDO Xinomyzithra of the island “unsettles” the Cretan mountains…
With the term Xynomyzithra you may have encountered many Greek cheeses in most of the Aegean islands, but in Crete things are different.
And it is different because, so far at least, it is the only one that since 1994 has acquired the status of Protected Designation of Origin.
Its production is exquisite, as it combines modern and traditional techniques.
In the villages of Crete, make a stop in facilities, ask to try and inquire old producers or stock-breeders, why it differs greatly from hand to hand.
The taste of the traditional xynomyzithra is more spicy than the one on the market. Its texture is drier, not so creamy.
It is related, in taste, to two other white PDO Cretan cheeses, Xygalo Siteias and Pichtogalo Chania, with the difference that they are produced from whole milk.
The PDO Feta Istiaia directly from the high mountains of Northern Evia…
Taste genuinely traditional, aroma that “wanders” you to the high mountains of the territory and a long-lasting art.
With grandparents, parents and children, each in his own unique way to carry on and continue doing so a tradition of abundant flavor.
Istiaia feta is made from 100% fresh sheep and goat milk that stems exclusively from the villages of Northern Evia.
With its white color, compact structure and slightly sour taste, testifies a special and uniquely Euboean cheese.
Cretan graviera has another “face”…
Your favorite delight in a different version with the rich aroma of tobacco “capturing” you, the long-lasting spicy taste and the nuts transfusing a unique touch.
The smoked graviera of Megalonisos is made from goat’s and sheep’s milk with the art being preserved and smoked from beech wood.
The unity of tradition and modern know-how render this cheese a gem of cheese-making with the island being proud of its acquisition.
You can not visit Mytilini and not dip into Ladotyri…
Do not be surprised if you are in a cafe in Mytilini and at 11.00am offer you ladotyri with local aromatic grapes.
It is one of the top and special cheeses of Greece, as it is of origin of protected name, it is prepared exclusively on the island of Lesvos and, more specifically, in its mountains.
It is manufactured in small heads that weigh 1-1½ kg and older, locals will relate, they preserved it exclusively in olive oil, to protect it from alterations, while at the same time received the waves of heat and cold in summer and winter respectively, which gave it a particularly spicy taste.
If you believe that it contains peppers and spices, you are wrong, it is their secret.
Most, because its preservation in oil is expensive, they place it in a layer of paraffin.An absolutely aromatic cheese with a real personality of its own.
If you are in Mytilini and pay a visit to villages, ask for the ladotyri preserved in the oil, it is totally worth it.
Come to Amari to “treat” you galomizithra… It conceals so many secrets!
At the foot of Mount Samitos, at an altitude of 460 meters, Amari invites you to steep, mountainous and mainly mouthwatering cheese secrets.
Because galomizithra has a tradition, it boasts its own narrative and unique story.
With a creamy and ethereal texture, it encloses your experience and urges you for the strongest gastronomic history of the traditional village.
It is made exclusively from goat and sheep milk in a harmonious ratio of 25% (sheep) and 75% (goat) and is produced immediately after pasteurization of milk.
It is usually placed in special coagulation containers for about an hour, hanged in the well-known bags to expel its liquids and it is packaged in just three days from its production.
Its low fat content as well as its lavish taste and nutrition make it famous everywhere.
It reaches fresh in your table and is consumed plain or in many savory and sweet recipes.
The most delicious smoked cheese nestles in Macedonia…
A real masterpiece of taste, you can try it in Macedonia and be impressed by its semi-hard texture.
It steals the impressions from the first moment and comes exclusively from goat’s and sheep’s milk by local producers.
It has a thick peculiarity, with a uniqueness in smoking, matured for about 3 months, wrapped and hung by a rope in excellent and special conditions.
Pindos “shouts” from the mountain, Metsovone my love, Metsovone…
For the “foodies” of the world, one reason to visit Metsovo is of course to enjoy the one and only subversive Metsovo.
Regally standing strong and powerful PDO, offering the richest taste directly from the most picturesque and traditional settlement, a few kilometers outside of Ioannina.
Of course, apart from Metsovone, in the village there is another familiar cheese sounding Metsovela, which you should try if you have not done it before.
Metsovone is smoked for three months with the Pasta Filata method, hung and wrapped in rope.
It is exclusively a semi-hard cheese which is prepared mainly from cow’s milk or from a mixture of cow’s milk with sheep or goat.
Well made with ideal and harmonious acidity, it “anticipates” for you to accompany it with an excellent red wine of your choice and to enjoy it overlooking Aoos River springs.
In Grevena, Aeromanouro has a significant butter grace…
Few people know it but when they find out it definitely has the potential to become the first love and eternal.
Gastronomy is pure magic because it hides surprises and gems in every place that when you discover them you feel sumptuous and full.
This is how you will feel when you try the aeromanouro, the local cheese of Grevena with the most buttery taste.
Tender and with an opulent taste that is not forgotten no matter how many kilometers you travel.
It remains vivid and distinctly dense in your senses, expecting it to become your daily habit.
One of the top Greek cheeses with an impressive dynamic which is made from goat’s milk of the area and is based there in the high mountains.
The PDO Sfela of Messinia and Laconia or otherwise cheese of the “fire”…
The cheese of the fire as its strong peppery taste is the ultimate star that fascinates.
The semi-hard local cheese of Messinia and Laconia is made from pasteurized sheep or goat and sheep milk.
It matures for at least three months before is set on your table with its name due to the way the cheese mass is cut (Sfela = strip) and is served either plain or with oil oregano as an amazing meze for your tsipouro and ouzo.
Try grinding Sfela on traditional pies or rusks with your culinary experience being taken off.
The article was published in Thigaterra blog, the Art of Slow Food
About the author
Katerina Karsioti is a Journalist – Archaeologist | Tour Guide
She works in print, television and Digital media, loves radio and specializes in Cultural, Tourism and Business reportage. Her employment in a Diplomacy Organization in the fields of Tourism and Gastronomy Diplomacy was an important tool of evolution and development.
She holds certifications in the field of Agrotourism and Agro-nutrition from the University of Crete and the University of the Aegean and is doing an MSc in the same field.
She insists on the development of olive tourism, focuses on the promotion and extroversion of country’s local products and anticipates the day when she will create her own farmhouse in the Peloponnese, where she comes from.
Change, for Katerina, comes when we decide what we want and not what we think we can have.
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