In May, we visited some friends on the beautiful island of Amorgos. While we were driving to the south of the island, in the Kolofana area we came across a very small kafeneio, or traditional coffeehouse. We only wanted to make a quick stop for a cup of coffee and a glass of water, but we ended up getting a lot more than we bargained for.
The owners, Nikitas and his wife, Maria, told us that they were in the middle of the cheesemaking process, and they were taking a break while the first batch was resting in the cauldron in the shed out back. We asked if we could observe the rest of the cheesemaking, and they generously agreed.
Nikitas makes two kinds of cheese in separate stages using 60 percent ewe’s milk and 40 percent goat’s milk. The first type is called tyri, meaning “cheese,” and is the most basic form of cheese you can make. He then prepares mizithra, a fresh, soft cheese made by combining leftover whey with fresh milk in a 4:1 ratio.
Before we arrived, he had strained the milk and then poured it into his 200-year-old copper pot to pasteurize over an open fire. He then allowed the milk to cool down to about 32 to 35°C and added natural rennet, stirred it well and left the mixture to rest for three hours in a warm place.
At the point where we joined him, he broke up the curds by stirring them with the branch of a Judas tree (wild olive branches are also commonly used). Using a mesh basket, he transferred the curds to a larger vessel, draining the residual whey back into the copper pot to be heated up again. Nikitas placed the cheese curds in molds and squeezed them, then added coarse sea salt in layers and set aside the cheese to drain for 24 hours. After it was done draining, he would flip it, sprinkle it with sea salt and allow it to mature for anywhere from a few days to a week.
For the mizithra, he added fresh pasteurized milk to the whey in the copper pot and heated them together, stirring the mixture with a reed that he used to scratch against the interior walls of the pot. He used a spoon to check the consistency of the mizithra, and when it was ready, he put out the fire and transferred the cheese to a plate.
January 14, 2020 Going Deep (0) As the calendar year turns over, we’ve grown accustomed to the barrage of lists telling […] Posted in Mexico City, Special category
August 31, 2019 Rejon Kilis Kebab (0) We are sure that many parallel universes exist within the labyrinthine Grand Bazaar of […] Posted in Istanbul, Urban Sketches
January 27, 2015 Bean Week (0) If there is one single food family that shows off the breadth and extent of the […] Posted in Athens
Mexico CityAs the calendar year turns over, we’ve grown accustomed to the barrage of lists telling us where to travel during the next 12 months. Often these places are a country or even a whole region – you could spend an entire year exploring just one of the locations listed and still barely make a dent.…
Eat with the craftsmen of Istanbul’s Bazaar Quarter on our walk!
IstanbulWe are sure that many parallel universes exist within the labyrinthine Grand Bazaar of Istanbul, one of the world’s biggest and oldest covered markets. The easiest one to access is a world of Prada knock-offs, Minion keychains and leather-bound menus presented with “Please, monsieur, fresh fish, Turkish kebab, hola!” This is the world constructed for…
AthensIf there is one single food family that shows off the breadth and extent of the collective Greek culinary imagination, it has to be the humble legume. Together with wheat, beans of all kinds, along with lentils, chickpeas and split peas, form the very foundation of the Greek diet and have done so since Neolithic…
