Liquid rennet
A liquid milk-coagulating enzyme preparation whose source, activity and formulation vary, used to form curd for cheesemaking.
Traditional method
Kefalotyri, Cypriot method
Kefalotyri
Kefalotyri is a hard sheep-and-goat-milk cheese made in Cyprus as well as Greece. This Cypriot method cooks and presses the curd, then brines, coats and matures the cheese.
History
Kefalotyri was already made in Cyprus in 1919, when William Bevan placed it among the island’s hard cheeses modelled on Greek cheeses. His account describes sheep-milk cheese repeatedly turned and salted after pressing. The later Cypriot method here uses cooked curd and a long coated maturation; Greece is its recorded area of origin.
Ingredients
Scaling: source batch only
Sheep and goat milkNot heat-treated in the documented method.
100 kg
Rennet-dose basis; milk proportions are not stated.Amount not stated
2–2.5 g per 100 kg milk; activity/strength not stated.Amount not stated
Brine concentration 20–26%; volume not stated.Method
Risks and precautions · High risk
Pathogens in fresh cheese or post-process contamination
Fresh cheeses can carry Salmonella, pathogenic E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes, or Staphylococcus aureus; handling after heating can reintroduce contamination.
Hazard sourceUse pasteurized milk for home cheesemaking, sanitize equipment and contact surfaces, wash hands and handle and cool curds hygienically.
Control sourceUnheated milk can carry pathogens; use pasteurized milk for home cheesemaking.
Wash hands, clean and sanitize equipment and food-contact surfaces, and prevent contamination during curd handling and cooling. Fresh-cheese pathogens include Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus.
- Bring the unheated milk to 32–35°C. Add liquid rennet at the reported ratio of 2–2.5 g per 100 kg milk and leave to set for 15–30 minutes.
- Cut the curd into 0.5–1 cm grains. Stir while heating to 45°C over 30–40 minutes, then continue stirring at 45°C for 15–45 minutes.
- Transfer the curd to moulds and press for 12–16 hours.
- Remove from the moulds and immerse in 20–26% salt brine at 12–16°C for 48 hours.
- Coat with cheese film or wax. Mature for 120–150 days at 15–20°C and 85–90% relative humidity.
- Pack the ripened cheese in paper or plastic film and store at 5–10°C.
Conditions
Temperature5–45°C
Temperature controlMulti-stage
Humidity85–90%
Maturation
FAO specifies 120–150 days at 15–20°C and 85–90% air moisture.
Places
Cyprus
Traditional preparation · Country evidenceCypriot production is documented in both the FAO entry and Bevan’s account.
Greece
Historical attestation · Country evidenceFAO gives Greece as the area of origin without a date or narrower locality.
Related
Made from
Salt
Food-grade sodium chloride seasons food and changes water movement in brines and cures; crystal size and the recipe's measurement method matter.
Sheep and goat milk
Sheep and goat milk supplies the proteins, fat, lactose and minerals from which small-ruminant cheeses are made. Its proportions and composition vary; no fixed ratio is established here.
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Sources
FAOProcess
The technology of traditional milk products in developing countriesKefalotyri location and milk species, rennet dose and coagulation, cut and cook process, pressing, brining, ripening conditions and reported finished salt range.
New Mexico State University ExtensionSafety
Making Homemade CheeseRaw-milk pathogen and cheese handling context; not validation of this method.
William Bevan; Project Gutenberg transcriptionHistory
Notes on Agriculture in Cyprus and Its Products1919 publication date, Kefalotyri manufacture in Cyprus as a Greek-style hard cheese; older repeated dry-salting method remains separate from the FAO method.