Ladotyri MytilinisΛαδοτύρι Μυτιλήνης

Appearance & taste

Ladotyri Mytilinis is a cylindrical hard cheese, usually 10 cm in diameter and just as high, weighing up to about 1.5 kg. The rind is hard and dry and bears characteristic ridges. The paste is hard, white to yellowish-white and has small eyes of irregular shape and distribution. The cheese contains at most 38 % moisture and at least 40 % fat in dry matter.

The specification describes the taste as salty and the aroma as pleasant. Because sheep’s and goat’s milk contain no carotenes, the curd is naturally white. According to the specification, their short-chain fatty acids make the aroma richer and the taste sharper than in cheese made from cow’s milk.

The cheese is sold as a whole wheel or in portions. The packaging bears the letters ΛΑ-ΜΥ, a serial number and the date of production.

Production

The milk comes from the island of Lesbos: pure sheep’s milk or a mixture with at most 30 % goat’s milk, from breeds traditionally kept on the island and adapted to it; the Mytilini sheep predominates. The animals are kept mainly in mountain and hill areas and feed almost exclusively on pastures with low grazing capacity but rich flora; in summer the herds are driven to pastures in the mountains. Only milk from milkings at least ten days after giving birth is used.

The milk, raw or pasteurised, is processed no later than 48 hours after milking. Concentrating the milk and adding milk powder, milk proteins, caseinates, colourings and preservatives are prohibited. Coagulation uses traditional rennet or enzymes with a similar effect; with pasteurised milk, lactic acid bacteria cultures and up to 20 g of calcium chloride per 100 l are added. Production, ripening and initial packaging take place on Lesbos.

Origin & history

At 1,630 km², Lesbos is according to the specification the third-largest island in Greece. The terrain is of volcanic origin, with an upland character and the highest point at Profitis Ilias at 965 m; pastureland takes up a considerable part of the island. The winters are mild, and the summers relatively cool thanks to the meltemi. The Aegean islands have many endemic plant species, and scrubland is widespread.

The sheep on Lesbos are small, adapted to the difficult conditions and give only 80 to 120 l of milk a year, the native goats in the mountains 50 to 100 l. Characteristic features are many farms with few animals and extensive husbandry. Sheep and goat farming has been the predominant form of dairy farming in Greece since antiquity.

According to the specification, the cheese comes from Lesbos and was further developed there; its production has a long, unbroken tradition. Since the beginning of the last century it has also been held in high regard in the rest of Greece. In the past it was stored in olive oil (“Ladi”), hence the name.