You may never have try of halloumicheese , but this yummy dairy farm product , which is beloved in the Mediterranean and center Eastern regions , is enjoy a renaissance in kitchens worldwide .
To get the lowdown on halloumi ’s origins and the salutary ways to use it , we check in with Atlanta , Georgia - based healthy chefNancy Waldeck , laminitis of Taste and Savor Travels and whose passionateness for food is equaled by her love of travelling . Halloumi cheese is one of her favourite component .
" When I was in Serbia , not too far from Greece , my hostess serve it several times , prepare it on the grille , " she says . " I like it because it ’s a great marrow second-stringer and because you do n’t have to use a mickle of it to get a lot of savor . "
The Origin of the (Cheese) Species
Halloumi was first made onCyprus , an island nation in the eastern Mediterranean , during theByzantine era(395 to 1191 B.C.E. ) . Back then , farmers used either sheep ’s or goat ’s milk which was heated in a large pot along withrennet , enzyme find in the stomachs of herbivorous creature . Rennet make the milk to separate into curds and whey . To make halloumi , the curds were pressed into block then , after they were nerveless , roil again in the milk whey . The blocks of halloumi were preserved by soaking them overnight ( or prospicient ) in a salty brine , then pack the blocks of tall mallow in mass leave to keep them overbold .
While food manufacture engineering has advanced since the Byzantine epoch , halloumi is made using the same ingredient and method . Today , it ’s possible to find halloumi made with vegetarian rennet and very often made with moo-cow ’s milk . And though refrigeration is readily available in most voice of the populace , halloumi is still packaged in seawater with dapple of dried mint leaves spatter on top .
Waldeck say the way halloumi is made – the two - step process that cooks the milk , iron the whey out of the cheese then cooks the cheese again in the whey – is the reason so many people lie with it .
" The 2nd cookery heighten the cheese and give it a higher melt point , " she says . " That ’s the secret . "
Cooking Halloumi Ups the Flavor
A higher melt point mean the cheese , which is usually sliced or cubed , holds its form when it ’s heated . Waldeck says heat does something wonderful to the grain and feeling of the halloumi on the inside and the outside .
These days it ’s fairly easy to find halloumi in the forte cheese sections of major grocery stores . If you ca n’t come up it there , hold your local external intellectual nourishment markets or Middle Eastern delis in your city . It ’s usually sold in 8 - apothecaries' ounce bricks . Waldeck says just pat the halloumi dry , do n’t rinse it off before slicing it . The pieces should be about 1 inch to 1.5 inches ( 2.5 to 3.8 centimeters ) thick and cooked either on a griddle , in a frying cooking pan or on a grill . The internet is filled with halloumi recipes , such asthis onefor a warm winter veg salad with halloumi from Bon Appétit .
" My favored way to make it is to put it in a cast iron skillet , " say Waldeck . " That elbow room you get more of the brown crusty yumminess on the cheese . " you could use up halloumi raw , but the texture is kind of chewy and rubbery . When it ’s cooked , the closest thing I can come up with to equate it to is paneer ( the balmy Amerind cheese ) but it has more texture or flavor than paneer . "
Some Pairings and Flavor Notes
It ’s the flavor Waldeck returns to . She recollect a time tour Greek , Turkish and Cypriot restaurants in Brooklyn , New York , and being served a salad that included Citrullus vulgaris and crisp halloumi . She liked the demarcation of the sweet fruit and salty halloumi so much she created her own salad formula , take it a step further .
" I did arecipewith watermelon – and I know it sound dotty , but beets – topped with grilled halloumi cheeseflower , green onion plant and a citrus vinaigrette , " she say . " You ’ll often see grill halloumi and strawberries or other fruit in the Mediterranean area . "
So , what ’s the difference between halloumi and that other mythic Mediterranean favorite , feta ? Waldeck says it goes back to how it ’s made . Unlike halloumi , feta is only cooked once when it ’s manufactured , making it softer and crumblier . You ca n’t put feta flat on the grillroom and that makes halloumi unequaled .
" I use feta a peck , like halloumi , and for the same reason , " Waldeck say . " you may use a slight bit and get a pile of smack . "
How Healthy Is Halloumi?
While grilling or frying cheese sounds , well , magnificent , it also vocalise severely heartunhealthy , so we asked how sound is halloumi ? " It ’s passably salty , " Waldeck admitted , but quickly added , " it has a bunch of atomic number 20 . "
A recommend serving size of halloumi is about 1 ounce or 28 Hans C. J. Gram . That individual portion has 90 calorie with 70 small calorie infer from rich . In the " good news show - unfit word " department it had 6 grams of protein and provide 20 percent of the everyday requirement of calcium , but also had a humongous 297 milligram of sodium and 20 milligrams of cholesterin . In other Good Book , if you ’re on a low-down - salinity , low - fat dieting , it might be impertinent to guide clear of fried halloumi .
An Economic Powerhouse
For the people of Cyprus , halloumi is more than Malva sylvestris , it ’s the state ’s second largest export . dairy farm farmers call it " white gold " as the cheese pumps more than$270 millioninto the home economy . Halloumi is register in the European Union ( EU ) as a Community Collective trademark , which specify the geographical origin of the goods and means no other merchandise can be marketed within EU borders using that name .
For yr , Cypriot authoritieshave attempt to get the EU to recognize halloumi as a traditional intersection of Cyprus . Allowing the " Protected Designation of Origin " ( the European Union ’s mark protecting autochthonal farming products , foodstuff , wine and strong drink of member countries ) would mean only halloumi made in Cyprus could be marketed under that name overseas . The app for the appellative is caught up in a dispute in part because it limits the amount of cow ’s milk that may be used , which could strike exports or lead to job expiration .
Fortunately , halloumi is still made , cooked and enjoy by felicitous consumers the world over , include Waldeck , who recalled an encounter with a street vendor in the Provence part of France who was grilling halloumi on skewers .
" They would take the skewer of halloumi and put it in a pocket bread pocket and slither the halloumi off the skewer , " she say , " Then , instead of lettuce , they ’d put a handful of fresh herbaceous plant in the pocket , and drizzle it with olive oil . The pita was warmed on the grillwork . It was so rattling . For a euro you could buy a fictile cupful of Rosé . It was the arrant luncheon . "
