Interested in Cyprus? Join us for a culinary tour Nov. 10-17, 2019!

We arrived in Cyprus determined to learn (among many other things) how the unique,  magnetic, mouth-watering Cypriot halloumi cheese is made, and happily, we did.

We visited a small family halloumi producer deep in the island’s southwest, passing dozens of large, unpenned herds of foraging goat and sheep en route which quite unconcernedly cross over the roads at their own pace, and arrived near the end of the morning’s cheese making.

Halloumi is made by heating a mixture of goat and sheep’s milk until it separates into curds and whey, then straining this mixture to separate the curds from the whey.  The curds are shaped into flat rounds about six inches in diameter, and heated again in the whey so the curds meld together seamlessly.  When this is done, the flat rounds are lifted out and salted, mint is placed on top, the cheese is folded over into a half-moon shape, and EUREKA!  We have a luscious, fresh-as-it-gets, luscious half-moon of haloumi cheese!

PS: Cypriots don’t eat halloumi at every meal, of course, but we can tell you that as food-centric travelers on a first-time visit to Cyprus, we came to say, “it’s not a meal unless we have halloumi!”  So, we enjoyed halloumi at most of our meals — a small piece for breakfast, grilled and eaten with cucumber; inside a fresh pita with greens and tomatoes for lunch and dinner; and with glasses of good Cypriot wine at the day’s end.

 — Sara & Dun