It is primarily produced on the island of Crete, but is widespread throughout Greece. It is essentially the same as Anthotyros though the latter may contain some cow's milk. In Cyprus a similar cheese is known as "Anari" (Αναρή in Greek, Nor in Cypriot Turkish, Lor in Turkish).
Mizithra is made from raw, whole ewe's or goat's milk in the simplest way possible: milk is brought to a slow boil for a few minutes and then curdled by adding rennet or whey from a previous batch (see below) or else some acidic substance such as lemon juice, vinegar or even a fresh broken fig tree sprig. As soon as curds have formed they are poured into a cheesecloth bag and hung to drain. The whey dripping out of the bag can be used to curdle the next batch of mizithra. After a few days mizithra forms a sweet, moist, soft mass molded in the shape of the hanging bag with a rounded bottom and a conical, wrinkly top. At this stage it is called "sweet" or "fresh mizithra" and may be eaten or, often, baked in pies.
The cheese is soft, snow-white, creamy, and moist. Since no salt is added to mizithra it has an almost sweet and milky taste. It is eaten as dessert with honey or as mezes with olives and tomato. It is used as a table cheese, as well as in salads, pastries and in baking, notably in little cheese pies (handful size) and Sfakiani pita (pie from the Sfakia region).
In its salted, aged form it is considered the grating cheese par excellence of Greek cuisine, and is especially suited for sprinkling over hot pasta.
Toponymyedit
The town of Mystras takes its name from a cone-shaped hill, called Mizithra from its resemblance to the cheese (Steven Runciman, A Traveller's Alphabet, "Morea").
^Facaros, Dana; Pauls, Michael (2003). Cadogan Guide: Crete. New Holland Publishers, ISBN978-1-86011-106-8
April 13, 2024
mizithra, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, march, 2013, lear. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Mizithra news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Mizithra or myzithra Greek myzh8ra miˈzi8ra is a Greek whey cheese or mixed milk whey cheese from sheep or goats or both 1 It is sold both as a fresh cheese similar to Italian ricotta and as a salt dried grating cheese similar to Italian ricotta salata The ratio of milk to whey usually is 7 to 3 MizithraCountry of originGreeceRegion townN ASource of milkGoats EwesTextureSoftFat contentapprox 15 Protein contentapprox 15 5 DimensionsvariousWeightvarious usually or 1 kiloAging time1 dayIt is primarily produced on the island of Crete but is widespread throughout Greece It is essentially the same as Anthotyros though the latter may contain some cow s milk In Cyprus a similar cheese is known as Anari Anarh in Greek Nor in Cypriot Turkish Lor in Turkish Contents 1 Production 2 Xynomizithra 3 Serving 4 Toponymy 5 See also 6 ReferencesProduction editMizithra is made from raw whole ewe s or goat s milk in the simplest way possible milk is brought to a slow boil for a few minutes and then curdled by adding rennet or whey from a previous batch see below or else some acidic substance such as lemon juice vinegar or even a fresh broken fig tree sprig As soon as curds have formed they are poured into a cheesecloth bag and hung to drain The whey dripping out of the bag can be used to curdle the next batch of mizithra After a few days mizithra forms a sweet moist soft mass molded in the shape of the hanging bag with a rounded bottom and a conical wrinkly top At this stage it is called sweet or fresh mizithra and may be eaten or often baked in pies Xynomizithra editMain article Xynomizithra Mizithra that is salted and aged becomes dryer denser saltier and more sour 2 This xynomizithra sour mizithra is often grated Serving edit nbsp Aged Mizithra production in Achaea PeloponneseThe cheese is soft snow white creamy and moist Since no salt is added to mizithra it has an almost sweet and milky taste It is eaten as dessert with honey or as mezes with olives and tomato It is used as a table cheese as well as in salads pastries and in baking notably in little cheese pies handful size and Sfakiani pita pie from the Sfakia region In its salted aged form it is considered the grating cheese par excellence of Greek cuisine and is especially suited for sprinkling over hot pasta Toponymy editThe town of Mystras takes its name from a cone shaped hill called Mizithra from its resemblance to the cheese Steven Runciman A Traveller s Alphabet Morea See also editList of cheeses Cuisine of Greece Manouri another Greek sheep cheese similar flavor not as dry as mizithraReferences edit Barron Rosemary 1991 Flavors of Greece William Morrow ISBN 978 0 688 07087 8 Facaros Dana Pauls Michael 2003 Cadogan Guide Crete New Holland Publishers ISBN 978 1 86011 106 8 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mizithra amp oldid 1214340267, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
