Graviera Kritis
A hard table cheese with a firm elastic texture and perforations. The cheese is produced traditionally from sheep's milk or from a
mixture of sheep's milk and goafs milk.
Geographical area: The prefectures of Hania, Rethymnos Iraklion and Lasithio.
This cheese has a history going back centuries and is one of the most well-known of the Greek graviera cheeses. It is produced using
traditional technology and ripened in installations within the defined geographical area.
The milk is coagulated at 34-36
°C. After 30 minutes the curd is broken up and reheated to 50-52°C under constant stirring. Followingthis the curd is placed in moulds and pressed for several hours. The cheeses are then left to stand for 1 day at a temperature of 14-16
°C and are afterwards placed in brine at 18-20B for 2-5 days depending on their size. After removal from the brine the cheesesare ripened for not less than 3 months in rooms kept at 14-18
°C. During ripening the cheeses are surface salted all over up to 10 times.
