It may be eaten plain or cut into salads, melted into pasta dishes or light dinners, or consumed on its own. It's a great addition to a balanced diet as a snack. Stringy Haloumi Cheese is a fresh handmade white cheese which is cooked in its brine.
String haloumi is known as string cheese because the cheese is formed into long thin strands. It can be enjoyed almost any of the ways you'd eat other cheeses: sliced, for a simple snack, cubed in salads or melted it in or on casseroles.
Although it can be consumed raw, halloumi is often used in cooking and can be fried until brown (without melting) due to its higher-than-typical melting point.
What is halloumi? A semi-hard chewy, white cheese originating from Cyprus and made from cow's, goat's or sheep's milk, or a combination. It has a mild salty flavour and lends itself beautifully to cooking due to its firm texture which is retained even when cooked and exposed to high temperatures.
In the UK, halloumi is easy to find in pretty much all supermarkets. It's often rolled in dried herbs (usually mint) before being sold - which explains the little black dots you can see on the halloumi in some of my photos!
Soak the halloumi in water for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours to remove the salty taste. I love the salty taste of halloumi, so I prefer not to soak it. However, if you find the kind you have to be too salty, the soak will help alleviate that. Allow the halloumi cheese to grill without touching it.
When you buy a packet of haloumi, it comes with a little salty brine. Simply patting the haloumi dry with paper towel will remove some of the saltiness, but you can also place it in a bowl of cold water to remove more of the salt, if you prefer.
When eaten raw, halloumi, an unripened cheese, has a bit of rubbery, squeaky texture. But because of its high melting point, it is the perfect cheese for grilling or frying. And with a little bit of heat, halloumi becomes soft and savory--an indulgent treat everyone should try at least once in their life!
My halloumi is too tough / rubbery
This can happen when it's cooked for too long in the oven, so next time try a lower cook time or thicker slices. It can also happen when it's been sitting out for too long, or with reheated halloumi.
Relax, we can verify that yes, halloumi is okay to eat uncooked.
Popular options include salads (Greek salad) roasted vegetables, couscous, rice, or quinoa. You could also serve fried or grilled halloumi alongside some village bread, pita bread and hummus for a delicious and filling meal.
Nutritionally haloumi cheese contains slightly less fat (26 per cent) than regular cheddar cheese but more than double the sodium content thanks to the brine used to preserve it. Haloumi is delicious, and as such one of the biggest issues it poses is the risk of overeating.
A sweet chilli jam pairs perfectly with the saltiness of halloumi, so adding a generous dollop to your plate is always a good idea. Add some fresh green salad leaves, and you've got a tasty starter or a plate that can be shared as part of a communal buffet style meal.
Originating from Cyprus, halloumi is a semi-hard, un-ripened, brined cheese that can be made from cow, sheep or goat's milk. It can be eaten raw but is truly delicious cooked, having a high melting point, makes it an excellent choice for grilling or frying.
It is under the process of getting PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) labeled and the name is already trademark protected in the UK exclusive for Cyprus made Halloumi. Haloumi with on “l”, on the other hand, refers to the same type of cheese made somewhere else and potentially using a different kind of milk!
The halloumi base is typically made from unpasteurised goat's or sheep's milk, and sometimes cow's milk. The inclusion of dairy milk of any kind renders halloumi completely not vegan friendly, and should not be consumed by anyone strictly following a plant-based diet.
A unique property of halloumi cheese is that it has a higher melting point than other cheeses. This means it can be grilled, baked, and fried without changes shapes and totally melting when compared to other cheeses. If you love mozzarella sticks, you will quickly become a fan of halloumi fries!
During the cheesemaking process, rennet is added to the warm milk. This causes the milk to coagulate and form clumps or strands of proteins. This is what gives halloumi its characteristic rubbery texture. When you are eating halloumi, the protein strands rub against your teeth and create a squeaky sound.
This is because, unlike many cheeses, halloumi has a high pH, as no starter cultures are used in its production. It seems that when this dense casein network “rubs” against the enamel of the teeth, it produces a squeak. Other cheeses usually have a lower pH, which tends to make the casein more fragile.
Just 2 to 3 minutes on each side on a medium to high heat is all you need. Wait until just after the juices have evaporated, allow the halloumi to start to go golden brown, then flip onto the other side. Finally, it's best to eat it immediately after cooking.
Preheat the oven to around 350 F, and place the halloumi on a wire rack or baking tray. It shouldn't take longer than approximately four minutes. The next option is to reheat the halloumi in a skillet. It will cook through quickly, so no more than one minute on each side.
Grilling halloumi on a BBQ is the perfect meat-free option for your veggie friends. Again, cut your halloumi into 5mm-1cm slices and brush them with a little olive oil. Then cook them quickly on your BBQ. This will give your halloumi lovely bar marks, which always looks cool.
Halloumi is a special and impressive cheese because of its high melting point. It can be fried in a hot pan or cooked on a 400 degree grill without melting! It will get nice and brown when fried and develop grill marks when grilled. It's somewhat soft, chewy, salty and incredibly delicious.
Being a brined cheese, halloumi has a very high salt content, therefore it's very salty when eaten raw. However, it is possible to eat it raw, but the chargrilling of the cheese helps to tone down the saltiness and gives a really complex smoky flavour. Because of its high salt content, halloumi doesn't need seasoning.
Halloumi will keep in the refrigerator for as long as a year, if it's unopened. Once opened, store it in the refrigerator in salt water in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Or wrap it tightly in waxed paper, parchment paper or cheese wrap. Rewrap in fresh paper whenever you unwrap it.