Sweetest summer memories in Greece are filled with plenty of sun, sea and food. Lots and lots of local fresh Greek products and especially cheese. You are hardly to find a Greek table without a cheese on it, either fresh or added in dishes like a lovely spanakopita (spinach pie) or hot Bouyourdi sause, or stuffed with cheese calamary. Niveous and salty Feta cheese, a must in Greek salad, is a true queen of the table, but we are going beyond.
If “Kaseri”, “Graviera” and “Manouri” sound Greek to you here’s our short guide of local cheese varieties along with wine matches to try with this summer.
Graviera is light-yellow hard cheese produced mainly from a mixture of goat and sheep milk. Salty graviera is used in cooking as well as it goes fresh with local whites with balanced minerality like Robola or Vidiano.
Anthotyro is a snow-white low-fat and mild cheese made either of sheep or goat milk. Soft texture and smooth milky flavor is a good pair with fruit and aromatic local whites like fruity Malagouzia or Debina.
Manouri is a full-fat and lightly salted cheese tasting almost like butter. Fresh Manouri makes a nice match with full-bodied Moschofilero white wine. When served with honey, nuts or fruits it goes better with a sweet Muscat of Alexandria.
Arseniko cheese has a thousand years tradition on the island of Naxos. Little bit spicy in taste this semi-hard cheese is a real jam among Greek cheeses. Either fresh or added in pasta Arseniko will prettify your table.
Kaseri is a semi-hard yellow sheep’s milk cheese, one of the most popular in Greece and is used widely in cooking because. It is mild, buttery and full-bodied in flavor. Peppery and nutty mature kasseri pairs great well-matured reds like red Agiorgitiko or white Roditis.
