People & Place
Greek, Cypriot, Balkan and Middle Eastern Cheeses
Explore Greek, Cypriot, Balkan and Middle Eastern cheeses through individual guides to their names, character and uses. Begin with Feta, then follow the reading order below or choose a name you want to understand.
Start here: Feta, available now: what defines this cheese?
Halloumi
A slice browns on the grill.
Kefalotyri
A golden surface, a squeeze of lemon, and cheese softening in the pan: this is Kefalotyri in saganaki mode.
Graviera
Set a wheel of Graviera on the counter and cut a slice.
Kasseri
Into water at 70 to 80 °C go slices of curd, ready to be kneaded until smooth and pliable.
Manouri
A slice beside tomatoes and herbs.
Mizithra
Watch a spoonful of honey settle over fresh Mizithra.
Everything in this section
- KopanistiKnead the curd.
- AkkawiBreakfast bread on one side, syrup-soaked kanafeh on the other: Akkawi looks quite comfortable between the two.
- Beyaz PeynirBread on the table.
- TulumBreak into tulum and you might meet pale, tightly packed cheese from Erzincan’s plateaux, at 1,500 metres and above.
- KashkavalSliced curd slips into hot water or brine.
- Paški SirCold bora wind sweeps seawater droplets across Pag’s exposed eastern side.
- SireneOn a Bulgarian table, Shopska salad sits beside banitsa.
- MetsovoneVine branches, aromatic leaves and grasses feed the smoke.
- KefalogravieraA slice of Kefalograviera hits the frying pan.
- AnthotyrosPicture pasta cooked in meat broth, finished with dried Anthotyros, at a Cretan wedding table.
- GalotyriLift your spoon and a soft, white mouthful of Galotyri comes with it.
- Xynomizithra KritisSpoon white curds over tomato-covered dakos and you get softness, moisture and a pleasantly tangy bite.
- Ezine PeyniriTaste past the salt and tang, and buttery, cooked-milk aromas begin to emerge.
- TelemeaTaste the salt at Ibănești and you have a thread to follow: naturally occurring spring brine from Orșova gives Telemea i
- NabulsiSweet pastry gives way to syrup, then a warm heart of salty white cheese.
- ShanklishThe flatbread is out, the tomato and onion are chopped, and Shanklish crumbles into the middle of the plate.
- LighvanDeep in the Sahand mountains, sheep’s milk cheese sits in brine, taking its time.
- KaşarFinely cut curd slips into hot salted water.
- Formaela Arachovas ParnassouInto the hot whey goes the moulded cheese.
- Katiki DomokouYour spoon slips into a tub of pure white Katiki Domokou.
- Ladotyri MytilinisSmall wheels of cheese rest in barrels topped with olive oil.
- SfelaYour knife meets a firm strip of pale cheese.
- Kalathaki LimnouLook at the white cheese on your plate.
- DarfiyehIn the mountains of northern Lebanon, a cleaned and salted goatskin waits to be filled.
- TolmincYour knife slips through a smooth, straw-coloured rind into yellow cheese that gives a little beneath the blade.
- MohantFirst comes the aroma, penetrating enough to make you pause over the plate.
- Nanoški SirPicture rent day on the Nanos plateau in western Slovenia.