Halloumi is a cheese purely native to Cyprus, an Island in the Mediterranean Sea that lies south of Turkey and only about 100 miles from the Syrian coast, but which has a predominantly Greek culture.
This cheese is a very different eating experience due to a unique manufacturing process, which is well-explained on cypressfoodanddrinks.com. First, unpasteurized goat and/or sheeps' milk is filtered, then coagulated with rennet only. Since no bacterial cultures are used and the milk is not permitted to ferment, it is not tangy.
Second, while many cheeses require the curd to be heated before draining, Halloumi curds are drained, pressed until they form a firm cake, then returned to the whey to be cooked to a far higher temperature than any other cheese. This causes the proteins to firm and become unmeltable, and gives the cheese a shelf life of up to a year or more under refrigeration; it can even be frozen with no loss of texture.
After the heating treatment, the curds are re-formed into a circular shape and folded over a filling of fresh or dried mint, then soaked in salty whey to preserve. It is sold vacuum packaged in a small amount of the brine.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Evansville Courier & Press
