Chania Cheese and Yogurt

Crete is known for its tasty cheeses and yoghurts and especially Chania. Here you will find a full list of the best cheeses produced in Chania Crete.

MYZITHRA GLYKIA (SWEET MYZITHRA)

It is made of either sheep or coat's milk (sometimes mixed as well). The best myzithra comes from boat's milk. It is delicious and light.

XYNOMYZITHRA (SOUR MYZITHRA)

It is made of either sheep or boat's milk (sometimes mixed as -well). It is an excellent kind of cheese, very tasty but rather rich in fat.

Both cheeses are eaten in numerous ways, for example; plain, or paximadi (hard bread) in salads or as a Tilling in kaltsounia (traditional cheese pies) etc.

MALAKA OR TYROMALAKA

It is a fresh cheese (tyromaza) and is used as a filling in kaltsounia.

ANTHOTYROS

It is made of either sheep or goat's milk. It is a very tasty, soft, sweet, white cheese. Since it is not rich in fat, it is very healthy. It is eaten in the same way as myzithra.

ANTHOTYROS XEROS (DRIED ANTHOTYROS)

When anthotyros is dried you get anthotyros zeros. While drying it is heavily salted while drying therefore it is rather savoury. It is a wonderful cheese, eaten plain as well as orated over pasta. It can also be turned into the delicious ladotyri (cut in cubes and packed in olive oil).

GRAVIERA (GRUYERE)

It is made of sheep's milk or mixed with goat's milk. I should say that it is not only famous locally but also universally as well.

KEPHALOGRAVIERA

It is made exactly as graviera. The difference is that kephalograviera is aged more and therefore it is more savoury (due to the larger quantity of salt it has absorbed). Of course the quality remains the same.

PHETA / FETA

Typical cheese of sheep's or goat's milk or mixed. However it can not be classified as a traditional product of Western Crete since its production has started only recently.

LADOTYRI

Any cheese like graviera, kephalograviera or anthotyros xeros can be turned into ladotyri provided it is aged and dried for over a year. It is then cut into cubes and packed in virgin olive oil. This very old process presumably originated in harsh times, 'When refrigeration facilities were not available.

STAKA OR ANTHOGALO

It is the cream of the milk, the first product of' the milk process. If it is beaten, we get fresh butter. It obviously has a high consistency of fat.

STAKOVOUTYRO

It is made from staka when it is processed and of course it is equally as rich.

YAOURTI PARADOSSIAKO (TRADITIONAL YOGURT)

It is made of' top quality sheep milk (hours' fresh). Due to its freshness, yaourti has a high consistency of' fresh milk fat which makes it delicious.


By Mary Guetta



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