Halloumi is a Cypriot cheese traditionally made from goat's and sheep's milk, or a mixture of the two. Cow's milk is sometimes used. It's most appreciated as a grilling cheese because it maintains its shape when heated and grills well.
Fast Facts:
• Source: Sheep's, goat's, and/or cow's milk
• Origin: Cyprus
• Texture: Semihard, rubbery, remains firm when heated
Traditionally prepared from goat's and/or sheep's milk on the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Halloumi is a white, layered cheese, similar to mozzarella. It is a semihard, unripened, and brined cheese with a slightly spongy texture. Its flavor is tangy and salty, and it has no rind. Halloumi is sometimes made from cow's milk. The milk may be pasteurized or unpasteurized. Halloumi can be eaten raw, but due to its high melting point, it's an ideal cheese for grilling or frying.
When eaten raw, Halloumi is plain and somewhat rubbery with salty notes. However, once crisped in a pan or on the grill, it becomes beautifully crispy and savory on the outside and sensually melted on the inside, similar to the consistency of a marshmallow when toasted.
Halloumi is increasingly popular. It can be found in most well-stocked supermarkets or specialty stores and is reasonably priced. Trader Joe's sells a presliced Halloumi cheese, and many natural foods stores stock Halloumi as well. Alternatively, you can purchase it online.
How Halloumi Is Made
The milk is heated, and rennet or vegetarian rennet is added to coagulate the milk. When the curds form, they are cut, the whey is drained, and the curds are left to firm up and pressed into molds. The cheese is then poached in water or whey, and it's this additional heating step that provides Halloumi's resistance to melting. The cheese is then salted (and traditionally sprinkled with mint) and can be eaten fresh within three to five days. Otherwise, it can be preserved in brine and aged for several months, which contributes to its salty flavor. Unlike most cheeses, no acid or acid-producing bacteria are used to produce Halloumi.
Halloumi is firm in texture and is sold in compact bricks and vacuum-packed in plastic, similar to feta cheese. Many Halloumi-style cheeses are prepared by dairy and goat farmers in Canada and the United States. For legal proprietary reasons, these cheeses are usually called Halloumi-styleor grillable cheeses. Sometimes they are called grilling cheese or frying cheese, or queso de freír in Spanish.
Depending on the recipe, Halloumi's unique texture can make it difficult to substitute. Tofu or Indian paneer may be used in some recipes but won't be quite the same as Halloumi. If eaten raw, a firm, dry feta cheese is slightly similar.
Uses
Try Halloumi grilled, pan-fried, or thinly sliced. Layer in salads or use in place of mozzarella in a caprese salad. Substitute grilled slices of Halloumi for bread in sandwiches as a gluten-free option, or serve it with watermelon, as is traditional in Cyprus. While Halloumi can be eaten raw, it's best warmed, grilled, or otherwise fired up to be appreciated. Once cooked, the cheese's saltiness fades into a strong, savory bite with a slightly creamy texture. Grilled or fried, Halloumi is truly delicious.
Storage
Halloumimay be refrigerated, unopened, for up to one year. Once opened,storeit in the refrigerator in salted water in an airtight container for up to two weeks, or wrap it tightly in waxed paper, parchment paper, orcheesewrap. Halloumi may also be wrapped in plastic or foil and frozen for up to three months without affecting its texture when cooked.
Halloumi Recipes
The best way to try Halloumi is to grill it in a grill pan or pan-fry it with a bit of oil.
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Watch Now: The 3-Minute Fried Halloumi Cheese Recipe You Need
Halloumi is a semi-hard cheese made principally in Cyprus from sheep or goat milk or mixture of the two. The raw milk is coagulated as for Feta cheese. The blocks of the cheese (10 × 10 × 3 cm) are heated at 92–95°C in the whey extracted during draining.
Traditionally prepared from goat's and/or sheep's milk on the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Halloumi is a white, layered cheese, similar to mozzarella. It is a semihard, unripened, and brined cheese with a slightly spongy texture. Its flavor is tangy and salty, and it has no rind.
Beyond its delectable taste and versatility, halloumi cheese offers a compelling choice for those seeking high-protein, low-carbohydrate options. It is also a great option for lactose-intolerant people, as it is very low in lactose. Halloumi cheese is also a good source of phosphorus.
You may be thinking this sounds messy, but Halloumi is a cheese that won't melt so it retains its texture and shape. If heated, the surface caramelizes slightly and the inside softens.
When eaten regularly in large quantities halloumi can be considered unhealthy, as this fried cheese is pretty high in saturated fat and salt. However, when eaten sporadically as part of a balanced diet, halloumi has a range of health benefits, as it's high in calcium and protein.
You'll probably feel pretty stupid calling it "squeaky cheese," but as soon as you take a bite you'll understand why it makes sense. Sometimes called Greek grilling cheese, halloumi is just that — a dense cheese that holds its shape and won't drip through the grates when grilled.
Compared to cow's milk, goat's and sheep's milk are typically more costly due to the lower milk yield and the challenges associated with raising these animals. In addition to the higher cost of the ingredients, the production process of halloumi cheese requires careful craftsmanship and attention to detail.
Halloumi could be eaten raw, but it typically isn't as its flavour and texture is enhanced when cooked. A big part of enjoying halloumi is the crisp, browned outside and soft inside when cooked, and this would be lost if eaten raw.
Instead of the former, substitute halloumi: another Mediterranean cheese similar to the Greek classic, but with a more mild taste and firmer texture. Halloumi works as a perfect feta substitute because it's more neutral in taste and smell than feta, but not different enough to fully change any given dish.
Currently, the UK is the country consuming the highest number of halloumi cheese outside of Cyprus. Mainly Southern Cyprus halloumi exports highly depend on consumption by Cypriots living abroad in countries like Australia, the UK, Germany and others, rather than local consumers.
This makes it an excellent cheese for frying or grilling (as in saganaki) and serving either as is, or with vegetables, or as an ingredient in salads or sandwiches. There are many recipes that use halloumi beyond simple grilling.
Nutritionally haloumi cheese contains slightly less fat (26 per cent) than regular cheddar cheese but more than double the sodium content thanks to the brine used to preserve it. Haloumi is delicious, and as such one of the biggest issues it poses is the risk of overeating.
When you buy a packet of haloumi, it comes with a little salty brine. Simply patting the haloumi dry with paper towel will remove some of the saltiness, but you can also place it in a bowl of cold water to remove more of the salt, if you prefer.
Same day is best - It's best to fry only what you're going to eat while the cheese is still warm. Once it cools down, halloumi will get rubbery again. Beware of refrigerating cooked halloumi for use on another day; refrigeration tends to make fried halloumi too hard and firm.
Halloumi cheese has a semihard, elastic and compact texture, a slight rind, and no holes or openings. It is easily sliceable, the color varies from white (when sheep or goats' milk is used) through yellowish (when cows' milk is used) in production (Guley and Akbulut, 2004; Milci et al., 2005).
What is halloumi? Originating from Cyprus, halloumi is a semi-hard, un-ripened, brined cheese that can be made from cow, sheep or goat's milk. It can be eaten raw but is truly delicious cooked, having a high melting point, makes it an excellent choice for grilling or frying.
This is because, unlike many cheeses, halloumi has a high pH, as no starter cultures are used in its production. It seems that when this dense casein network “rubs” against the enamel of the teeth, it produces a squeak. Other cheeses usually have a lower pH, which tends to make the casein more fragile.
It has a dairy-base usually made from unpasteurised goat or sheep's milk (sometimes cow's) meaning that it is not vegan-friendly and won't be consumed by anyone following a strictly plant-based diet.
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