Formaella Arachovas Parnassou
A traditionally-produced semi-hard cheese made exclusively from sheep's milk or goat/s milk or from a mixture of the two.
Geographical area: The Arachova Parnassou area of the prefecture of Boeotia.
The cheese has been produced in the Arachova mountain area for at least a century and is highly-esteemed for its special flavour by the area's inhabitants and the tourists who visit the archaeological site at Delphi and the Parnassos skiing centre. It is produced using traditional technology and ripened in installations within the defined geographical area.
The milk is coagulated at about 32°C. Coagulation lasts for about 2 hours. The cheese curd is heated to 40°C for 10 minutes and then
divided into large pieces of a size that will fit special moulds (hoops or wicker containers). The moulds holding the cheese are then immersed in whey which is kept at 60CC for one hour. After this they are removed, turned over and immersed in whey again at the warmer temperature of 75-80°C for one hour. When they are taken out of the whey the cheeses are salted and left to dry for 24 hours. They are then taken out of the moulds and placed on shelves for 4 days to bring drying to completion.
