The Greek repertoire of cheeses easily rivals that of France or Britain in variety, tastes, and versatility.
Starting with white cheeses, feta is undeniably the queen of Greek cheese. This semi-hard white cheese is made from sheep’s milk or a mix of goat’s and sheep’s milk; it’s aged for several weeks before being marinated in brine for at least 2 months for flavor. It’s considered one of the lowest-calorie cheeses globally and is often served in salads, baked in oven-cooked dishes, or served in a chunk as a side dish to a larger meal. A more rare variety is malaki feta, a softer, spreadable version with a lighter flavor.
But the white cheeses of Greece don’t end with just feta. Also popular is mizithra, a soft, white whey cheese used in desserts, while its sour cousin, xinomizithra, is often served with retsina and other liquors. Manouri is a similar semi-soft cheese used in salads and pastries or served with honey and jam as a dessert. And if you’re watching your blood pressure, anthotiro is recommended by doctors as the best cheese for a low-salt diet. It’s very soft and light, making it spreadable and good as a replacement for feta or a healthy dessert with fruit and honey. It’s one of the freshest cheeses with a short shelf-life, so if you buy a pack, be sure to eat it within a week.
Greek yellow cheeses are relatively light in color and flavor compared to heavier foreign cheeses like cheddar, but they’re unmatched for their flavor and versatility. Graviera is one of the most popular, a hard yellow-white cheese made only in Crete (sheep and goat milk) and Naxos (cow milk). It’s a great addition to a cheese board with wine and kritsinia (breadsticks) or a side to a larger meal. Kaseri is a classic, semi-hard yellow sandwich cheese. It’s magnificent when melted, making it the cheese of choice for tost (grilled cheese sandwich). The salty, hard kefalotiri, meanwhile, is a fantastic choice for grating on top of pasta (you’ll never be able to a bowl of spaghetti without it again).
Finally, when travelling through Greece, keep your eyes out for some rare local cheeses. Kopanisti from Mykonos is a soft, spicy, light pink cheese with a striking aroma, while hard, yellow ladotiri from Lesvos is preserved in olive oil. Pihtogala, a soft, spreadable cheese with a sweet-and-sour flavor, can only be found on Crete in Hania, while kariki, a soft, spicy blue cheese, can only be found on Tinos. Travelling to more wintery destinations? Try metsovone, a spicy, smoked cheese produced only in the village of Metsovo in Pindus, or aeromanouro, a cheese as delicious and soft as butter produced in Grevena.
Where to buy: The more common cheeses can be found at every Greek supermarket. Delis and small/specialty markets, however, are the best places to find fresh and locally produced cheeses from all over Greece. Tirokomeio Kostarelo (multiple locations—see https://www.kostarelos.gr/en/where-to-find-us/) is a classic deli chain that makes its cheese and sells many regional varieties, whereas Ta Karamanlidika tou Fani (Evripidou 52) downtown has many rare regional cheeses, like aeromanouro.
(Photo credit greece-is.com)
The Inquiring Traveler's Notebook 