Everybody loves grilled cheese. Ancient Roman cookbooks contain recipes for this delicacy. The British were the first to combine it with bread. The French ele-
vated it to haute cuisine, calling it croque-monsieur. And Americans love it so well they actually have an official National Grilled Cheese Month (April). This is fitting for a country that, according to Kraft Foods, consumes more than 2 billion grilled cheese sandwiches a year and which hosts its own competitive event - the annual Grilled Cheese Invitational.

"some like it hot and creamy. With cheese this delicious, who needs bread?"

The Greeks like grilled cheese, too, though they prepare it differently: without bread. They have a whole range of cheeses designed specifically to be grilled so that they are firm on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside.

When these cheeses are grilled, fried or broiled, the resulting dish is called saganaki. The word is derived from the Greek sagani, meaning “two handled frying pan“. The name alludes to the fact that this dish is of­ten served in the pan in which it was cooked, allowing the cheese to stay warm. Cows are scarce in Greece,
so all of these cheeses are made from sheep milk, sometimes combined with goat milk. Each is unique to Greece or Cyprus, with most enjoying PDO status. Easy to make, it is comfort food at its finest – grilled cheese for purists. The Cheeses

The Cheeses

Kefalograviera
Kefalograviera is a hard, super salty PDO cheese produced in the regions of Western Macedonia and Epirus and in the prefecture of Aitoloakarnania. Generally made from sheep milk, goat milk may added as long as it constitutes less than 10% of the total mixture. Yellow to light brown in color, it has a thin, hard skin and is elastic to the touch. First produced in the 1960s, it derives its name from two other cheeses, Kefalotyri and Graviera, as its taste and texture lies somewhere between the two.

The Greeks like grilled cheese, too, though they prepare it differently: without bread

Kefalotyri
Another hard cheese made from either sheep milk or a combination of sheep and goat milk, this cheese first appeared on the scene during the Byzantine era. It is a piquant, salty and slightly sharp cheese somewhat similar to Italian Pecorino Romano. It ranges in color from white to yellow, depending on the milk mixture, and is made all over Greece and Cyrpus. It has 40 to 55% fat content and takes two to three months to ripen. In addition to its use in saganaki, it is also often grated and tossed with spaghetti.

Kasseri
Produced in the regions of Macedonia and Thessaly and in the prefectures of Lesvos and Xanthi, this is a semi-hard PDO cheese with a mild, creamy, buttery flavor and a springy texture. If goat milk is used, it must not exceed 20% of the total mixture. Though salty, limiting the amount of goat milk used in its making gives it a slightly sweet taste. Pale yellow and rind-less, this is one of Greece’s most popular and versatile cheeses.

Mastelo
Made on the islands of the Aegean, most commonly on the island of Chios, this is one of the few saganaki cheeses that may be made from cow milk. White, with a soft texture and a mild flavor, it is also slightly salty due to the time it spends in brine.

Each cheece is unique to Greece or Cyprus, with most enjoying PDO status

Batzos
Batzos is a hard to semi-hard PDO cheese produced in Western and Central Macedonia and Thessaly from sheep milk, goat milk or a combination of both. Salty, it is both matured and preserved in brine. Pungent, slightly acidic and slightly sour, it has no external rind and is covered by small, irregular holes. With a 20% fat content, it is the least fatty of the grillable cheeses.

Sfela
Sfela is produced in the Southern Peloponnesus (Messinia and Laconia), traditionally from non-pasteurized sheep and goat milk and artisanal rennet. It is a semi-hard, off-white PDO brine cheese which is relatively low in fat and quite salty.

Haloumi
While many of the other saganaki cheeses are also eaten cold, Haloumi, the most traditional cheese of Cyprus, is nearly always eaten grilled. It is a semi-hard cheese usually flavoured with mint leaves and soaked in brine. It also has the advantage that it completely retains its shape even when heated. This is because the cheese curds are heated before being shaped and placed in brine. Many of the other saganaki cheeses must first be dusted with flour prior to cooking to achieve this goal.

Grilled Cheese, Greek-Style
Grilled Cheese, Greek-Style The harder cheeses are best fried. Cut the cheese into 1/3 inch thick slices, dust them with flour (or you may dip them in beaten egg first) and fry in a bit of olive oil until golden brown. The dish is finished with a sprinkle of lemon juice.

The softer cheeses are often broiled. One of the easier ways to cook these is to place two-inch cubes on skewers, perhaps with a few cherry tomatoes and a leaf or two of basil, and broil at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until the cheese begins to melt. Haloumi is most often brushed with olive oil and grilled on a dry griddle, but it may also be grilled on a barbeque. e