Blog
The cheese goddesses
August 12, 2019
Dimitra Themistocleous is waiting for us at the side of the road, with an armful of flowers. Wild orchids. Aren’t they protected? “Well, the goats eat them as well.” Dimitra has a herd of around two hundred goats. The kids are just a few weeks old, so it’s not really time to be making cheese. The mothers’ milk is needed for their young during these weeks. Only once they start to nibble grass and flowers can Dimitra and her daughter Elena get back to making halloumi. But this morning, the two women have funnelled off a few litres of the precious milk to show how the famous ‘squeaky cheese’ is traditionally produced. Because it is only real halloumi if it produces a high squeaky tone between the teeth when you chew! And when you add mint. But one thing at a time.