Hallo Halloumi!

Hallo Halloumi!
Say 'Hello' to a Lesser Known Greek Cheese

In a long thread from last summer that focussed on the most famous and most exquisite of pasta filata cheeses, mozzarella, both di mucca and, best of all, di bufala, the question of the use of other milks and in particular of goat's and sheep's milk for making such cheeses arose.* To my knowledge, there is no widespread use of these two milks for the making of pasta filata ('stretch') cheeses in Italy and there is no such thing as mozzarella di capra or mozzarella di pecora in the old country. In the discussion from last summer, there was some speculation concerning the chemical composition of these other milks in comparison to those of cows and water buffaloes and what effect the differences in composition would have on the texture of the cheese; in this regard, Capo di Cacio P. Daane offered some very insightful comments, surmising that a truly elastic 'mozzarella di capra' or 'mozzarella di pecora' probably cannot be made.

At the time the above discussion took place, I remember trying to think of a pasta filata style cheese from somewhere in the world that is made with goat's or sheep's milk but could not. But at the same time, I had this nagging feeling I was forgetting something obvious, a cheese that I knew well and liked, but the memory could not be jarred. At least not until a couple of weeks later, when I next visited the Al Khyam grocery on Kedzie just south of Lawrence, where I bought a piece of one of my favourite cheeses, namely halloumi. As I picked up the little plastic wrapped ball of delight, the coin finally fell and the light came on: Halloumi is the caseous missing-link!

Halloumi, also spelt haloumi, is a specialty of the island of Cyprus. It is, I believe, made by the pasta filata method and traditionally has been produced primarily from sheep's milk but also from goat's milk and nowadays, in order to allow for greater production, from mixtures of cow's and sheep's milk. Much as Mr. Daane surmised, however, on the basis of his consideration of the chemistry involved, the texture of traditional halloumi resembles that of mozzarella only to a very small degree. In part, the difference has to do with the fact that halloumi is brined for a time before consumption but also clearly from the constitution of the cheese itself. Only slightly stretchy, it also — perhaps miraculously — simultaneously tends toward a slightly crumbly or lumpy state when pressure is applied to it. Because of the brining process, commercial halloumi is often rather salty but this can be corrected with a soak in fresh water. The cheese is also traditionally flavoured by means of the addition of a small amount of dried mint to the cheese itself.

On account of its peculiar texture, halloumi is uniquely suitable for grilling and frying. It is often eaten together with fruit but is also a delightful addition to a medzes platter. I use it on occasion as an element in pasta dishes, for example, with zucchini and fresh mint, where it adds a nice textural and flavour element. It is also very popular in the Middle East and in the Levant it is often made in a dish with eggplant and bulgur. But my favourite use of halloumi is as the main ingredient in the filling of ravioles, the Cypriot take on ravioli, a dish which I've had once in a restaurant in London and plan to make at home from scratch sometime soon.

Halloumi is available in all Middle Eastern and Greek groceries and in some gourmet shops. Here in Chicago, there are three brands which I regularly buy:
• G. & J. Keses. Available at Whole Foods. Ingredients: sheep's (15%) and goat's (85%) milk, salt, mint, non-animal rennet. $11.99 per lbs. A package is usually about .6 lbs (ca. $7.25).
• Pittas. Available at Athens Market. 100% sheep's milk. Ca. $3.50 for a ca. 9 ounce piece.
• Christis. Available at Al Khyam. 100% sheep's milk. Ca. $2.25 for a ca. 9 ounce piece.

Without any doubt, I much prefer the most expensive of these three, Keses' halloumi which is exceptional in the high percentage of goat's milk used in its production. Of the two all sheep's milk cheeses listed above, I prefer the Pittas product but not strongly.

If you like sheep's and goat's milk cheeses at all and haven't yet tried halloumi, I urge you to do so.

Kalí sas órexi!
Antonius


*Here is a link to the relevant section of that thread:
mozzarella and other pasta filata cheeses

• A "goat's milk mozzarella" is produced by the Mozzarella Company in the far north of Mexico -- Dallas, to be specific -- with a measure of success unknown to the present writer. The owner of the company, an occasional guest on television programmes, has not made a favourable impression with regard to her knowledge, insofar as it could be judged in one or two such settings over the past few years.

• Click here to see Mr. Daane's post.

• A nice recipe for this dish is included in the very fine cookbook by: Aglaia Kremezi. 2000. The Foods of the Greek Islands. Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin.

Edited by the author for typos.
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IIRC, Periyali in Niles makes a pasta with halloumi which I've had once or twice. They make it with a lot of butter, and it's somewhat bland, salty and crumbly, with a hollow spaghetti.

Excellent post Antonius. I am a big fan of haloumi, and I often buy it at Marketplace on Oakton, in their pre-wrapped cheese section.

I first learned of this cheese from Nigella Lawson's old tv show, where she simply pan-fried a hunk. It's wonderful when crisped up like this (I use it to accompany some roasted peppers and olives in an appetizer when I get home from work) and also goes great in an omelette.

Thank you for helping revive some interest in this wonderful cheese.

Best,
EC

eatchicago wrote:Excellent post Antonius. I am a big fan of haloumi, and I often buy it at Marketplace on Oakton, in their pre-wrapped cheese section.

EC:

Thanks for the kind words!

What brand is it that you get and do you know what the composition is; all sheep's milk? I really find a substantial difference in quality between the sheep's milk ones I get and Keses' product with its substantial goat's milk component. It's quite a bit more expensive but superior to Pittas and Christis, I think, in both flavour and texture.

A

I haven't had any in a few weeks, and my memory fails me. I'll be heading up to Marketplace soon and I'll be sure to pick some up and reply.

Best,
EC

I have just returned from Marketplace with a fresh pack of halloumi. It's the same Christis brand that you get at Al Khyam. 100% sheep's milk. Same price too.

Best,
EC

Here's a pic of my halloumi-centered lunch. I call it "refrigerator lunch" because most of the items come from jars or bags in my fridge. Another name might be "marketplace lunch" because every item comes from Marketplace.

Pan grilled halloumi, baba ganouj, kalamata olives, marinated mushrooms, greek feta, and roasted red peppers.

Antonius wrote:Hallo Halloumi!
Say 'Hello' to a Lesser Known Greek Cheese

• G. & J. Keses. Available at Whole Foods. Ingredients: sheep's (15%) and goat's (85%) milk, salt, mint, non-animal rennet. $11.99 per lbs. A package is usually about .6 lbs (ca. $7.25).

Without any doubt, I much prefer the most expensive of these three, Keses' halloumi which is exceptional in the high percentage of goat's milk used in its production. Of the two all sheep's milk cheeses listed above, I prefer the Pittas product but not strongly.

The halloumi by G. & J. Keses is currently on sale at the Whole Foods store (and other branches?) at Huron between State and Dearborn for the price of $7.99 per pound. If you haven't tried this brand, I strongly recommend you take advantage of this offer.

Antonius

now that the weather is trying to warm up, I encourage fans or potential fans to try haloumi on the grill! Just brush it liberally with olive oil on both sides. It is a super easy but easy to wow appetizer for cookouts. Last summer people sort of skipped all the lovely grilled veggies around it and just started piling the slices into their mouths.

bjt

bjt wrote:now that the weather is trying to warm up, I encourage fans or potential fans to try haloumi on the grill! Just brush it liberally with olive oil on both sides. It is a super easy but easy to wow appetizer for cookouts. Last summer people sort of skipped all the lovely grilled veggies around it and just started piling the slices into their mouths.

bjt

hi bjt,

what thickness do you usually use for grilled halloumi? same as for frying?

hi: I'm so tardy in responding, sorry. I would slice it about 1/2 inch thicker than what you'd do for pan frying. My experience has been that the more expensive brand (the one at Whole Foods) tends to crack less while the stuff they sell at Middle East Bakery tends to crack. So I'd spend a little more and avoid hunks of haloumi falling through the grill.

cheers!

bjt

I was at Whole Foods yesterday and they were offering samples of that halloumi sliced really quite thin and pan-fried. Very delicious. I didn't buy any because I'm on Weight Watchers right now and all I need is a bunch of delicious cheese calling out to me from the fridge! But I want to do small pieces like that for a party appetizer sometime.