KasseriΚασέρι

Appearance & taste

Kasseri is made as a cylinder up to 30 cm in diameter and 7 to 10 cm high, or as a rectangular block; the weight varies. The thin rind is semi-hard and cohesive, yellowish white and usually coated with paraffin or another material approved for food. The paste is compact, semi-hard and cohesive, yellowish white and usually has no holes. The cheese contains at most 45 % moisture and at least 40 % fat in the dry matter.

The specification describes the taste as pleasant and the aroma as rich. Because sheep’s and goat’s milk contain no carotenes, the curd is naturally white, unlike the yellowish curd made from cow’s milk.

The packaging bears the letters “ΚΑ”, a serial number and the date of production.

Production

The milk comes exclusively from the area, from sheep and goat breeds traditionally kept there. The animals live mainly in mountain and hill areas, graze on pastures with low carrying capacity but many plant species, and move to mountain pastures in summer. The native breeds give little milk, sheep about 80 to 120 litres a year, but with a high dry matter content.

Raw or pasteurised sheep’s milk is used, to which at most 20 % goat’s milk may be added. It must be milked no earlier than ten days after giving birth and is curdled within 48 hours of milking, with traditional rennet or enzymes with a similar effect. With pasteurised milk, acid-producing bacterial cultures and calcium chloride are added. Concentrating the milk is prohibited, as are milk powder, milk protein, caseinates, colourings and preservatives. According to the specification, the biological acidification of the curd to the desired extent is important for traditional Kasseri. The cheese ripens for at least three months. Production, ripening and initial packing take place in the area.

Origin & history

About two thirds of Greece is mountainous, and the climate is Mediterranean: mild, rainy winters and dry, hot summers with plenty of sun. The flora of Greece comprises about 6,000 species, of which 15 to 20 % are endemic. According to the specification, sheep and goats have always been the most important dairy animals in Greece, because the mountains and dry climate make cattle farming difficult.

In the past the milk came mainly from herds in the Pindus and on Olympus, where there were hardly any roads. The milk was therefore curdled on the spot and the curd was carried away in barrels to be made into cheese. This gave rise to a stringy type of cheese, whose production gradually developed into its present form. According to the specification, Kasseri has been made in various parts of Greece for more than 100 years. Homer already describes in the Odyssey how the Cyclops Polyphemus makes cheese from sheep’s and goat’s milk.