Halloumi
Flavour Profile
Salty, milky, and slightly tangy, with a squeaky, springy texture when fresh.
The magic is what happens with heat — the outside crisps and browns, the inside stays firm and chewy.
Health Benefits
Very high in protein (around 22g per 100g) and calcium.
Also very high in salt — much higher than most cheeses. Worth knowing if you're watching sodium.
Buying Tips
Look for halloumi made in Cyprus from a mix of sheep, goat, and cow's milk. That's the traditional recipe.
Many supermarket versions are all cow's milk, which is fine but less flavourful. PDO halloumi has been protected since 2021.
Storage
Keep in the fridge in its brine. Once opened, store in fresh salted water and it'll keep for a couple of weeks.
Freezes well, unusually for cheese. Slice it before freezing for easy use later.
Cooking Uses
Grill it, pan-fry it, barbecue it. Anything that gets it hot and gives it colour.
Great in salads with watermelon and mint, stuffed into pita with chilli sauce, or just eaten warm with a squeeze of lemon.
Forkin Food Theory
Halloumi doesn't melt because its proteins have been heated and acid-set during production, making them heat-stable.
Normal cheese melts because its proteins relax and flow when warmed. Halloumi's proteins have already been through that process and locked into place — they crisp and brown instead of flowing.
It's one of the few cheeses you can grill directly over fire without it disappearing through the grates. That's not a bug, it's the feature.
Wild & Wonderful
Halloumi has been made in Cyprus for centuries, traditionally by shepherds who needed a cheese that wouldn't spoil in the heat.
The folded shape comes from the way the warm curd is pressed and bent in half before brining — that fold is part of the traditional method, not just aesthetics.
Mint leaves are often laid inside the fold during traditional production, adding a subtle herbal flavour.