Krasotiri KoΚρασοτύρι Κω

Appearance & taste

Krasotiri Ko is cylindrical, elongated and asymmetrical, with grooves and pronounced notches. They come from the “tyrovoli”, the basket in which the curd drains. Inside, the cheese is white throughout; outside, the wine lees colour it reddish, the more strongly the darker the lees are and the longer the cheese lies in them.

The cheese is soft and contains at least 43 % fat in dry matter and at most 56 % water. It has a pronounced wine aroma and a slightly sour flavour; according to the specification, it owes both mainly to ripening in the lees.

Production

The sheep and goats belong to breeds that are traditionally kept on Kos and are adapted to the island. During the day they graze on natural land with a very varied flora, and at night they stay in simple sheds. From May to September the pastures dry out; the animals then eat dry wild plants and hay from cereals and legumes from the area, plus bought-in feed such as maize grain. In October and November, when the young animals are suckled, olive leaves are added. From December to about April, heather, sage, thorny broom and the acorns of the valonia oak grow on the pastures again.

Raw or pasteurised goat’s or sheep’s milk or a mixture of both, produced on Kos, is used. Milk powder, condensed milk, caseinates, colourings, preservatives and other additives are not permitted. The milk is curdled with animal rennet, obtained traditionally or commercially. The curd drains in the tyrovoli, a basket made from the island’s tall reeds, or in a perforated plastic mould with a similar inner structure.

After at least one day in brine, the cheese ripens for at least a month in “Possia”. This is a thick mass of boiled-down red wine sediment, made by the island’s winegrowers using traditional methods, only from approved wine grape varieties from the area. It is used pure or diluted with wine. The milk and lees come from Kos, cheesemaking and ripening take place there, and the cheese is also packed on the island, immediately, so that it keeps the characteristics the lees give it.

Origin & history

Kos has a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. The island is a mosaic of mountains, hills and plains; relatively much rain falls in the mountains, which benefits the springs and plains. The island’s flora includes around 1,000 plant species, and on the pastures, among others, thyme, oregano, savory, sage, myrtle, rock rose, rosemary, strawberry tree and wild olive.

The name refers to the ripening: Krasotiri means wine cheese, Tiri tis Possias cheese steeped in wine lees. The specification links the cheese’s reputation with that of the wines of Kos, whose lees are still used for the Possia today. A journal on the island’s history that it cites reports on 18th- and 19th-century travellers who mention the vineyards of Kos; the livestock keepers put their cheeses in the lees to make them keep longer and give them their typical flavour. According to the specification, the cheese has played an important role in the life of the islanders since ancient times, and the knowledge of Possia and tyrovoli is passed down from generation to generation.