Xynomizithra Kritis Ξυνομυζήθρα Κρήτης
The essential sour whey cheese of Crete, offering an energetic lactic bite that defines island barley rusks.
- Type
- cheese
- Designation
- PDO
- Made from
- sheep and goat whey and milk
- Where
- Crete
- Season
- all-year
- Price
- €€
Taste and texture
Bright, lactic, and distinctly sour with a light, grainy mouthfeel. It finishes fresh and clean with a mild sheep milk tang.
soft
saltysharpcreamyfruitybittersweetintense
How to buy
Purchase fresh from reputable counters where the curd is refrigerated and moist without being soured excessively.
Check for the exact name Xynomizithra Kritis alongside the PDO seal to distinguish it from sweet fresh mizithra.
The rules in short
A traditional Cretan sour whey cheese made by fermenting whey and milk mixtures from local sheep and goats. Drained in woven cloth sacks.
Serving ideas
- Heaped onto soaked barley rusks with grated tomato and olive oil
- Baked inside traditional small Cretan herb pastries
- Spoon-served cold beside rich oven roasts
Substitutes
Salted ricotta, Quark.
Read more: The Greek Easter Table: Feasting, Ritual, and the End of Lent.
Cooked in
Cretan barley rusk saladHilopites with butter and fetaCretan cheese pastriesSarikopitesCretan bourekiSkaltsounia
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.