Kefalotyri Κεφαλοτύρι
The archetypal salty, hard grating cheese of Greece, prized for its sharp pungency and searing saganaki crust.
- Type
- cheese
- Designation
- PDO
- Made from
- sheep and goat milk
- Where
- Macedonia, Thessaly, Central Greece, Peloponnese
- Season
- all-year
- Price
- €€
Taste and texture
Sharp, distinctly salty, and strongly aromatic with a lingering peppery tang. The crumb is exceptionally hard, dry, and brittle.
hard
saltysharpcreamyfruitybittersweetintense
How to buy
Look for pale yellow blocks with a hard crust that grate into fine, dry flakes.
Look for genuine Greek PDO labelling indicating sheep and goat milk without added preservatives.
The rules in short
Traditional ancient hard cheese made from unpasteurised sheep and goat milk across mainland Greece and islands. Matured for at least three months to harden fully.
Serving ideas
- Fried in smoking oil and finished with a squeeze of fresh lemon
- Heaped over steaming bowls of pasta or bean soup
- Stirred into rich spinach and cheese pie fillings
Substitutes
Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano Reggiano.
Cooked in
Check the register. Designations are listed from our own working list and have not yet been checked against the EU register. Check eAmbrosia before relying on a name.