Hellim! / Halloumi!

One of the best things that comes out from Cyprus!

Is that cheese cooked? I can pretty much not eat raw cheese at all ever, making me the target of much mockery by Turk and Greek alike.

My lady's dad brought us all some cheese from Kars (both her parents are very proud Karslılar) and presented it to us all with great flourish, clearly proud to present such excellent cheese not only to his children but to this foreigner who could now appreciate what REAL CHEESE tasted like.

Sheepishly, not wanting to offend, I tried to take a bite of it, and gagged profusely. Her father looked like he was gonna cry, after all, how could anyone not love this wonderful cheese from beautiful Kars?

My lady tried to explain to him that I don't really like cheese, but that just changed his sadness to confusion.

"Peyniri... beğenmiyor mu? Mümkün mü peyniri beğenmeme?"

Anyway, yeah... if that cheese isn't cooked, there is no chance I can try it. I will break some old Kıprıslı Rum's heart.

of course you can eat it raw. the on in the picture is grilled. It goes great with kebab. :)

i like it a lot...especially when fresh and just made...goes well with watermellon...or in a tomato sandwich...or fried with fried eggs and bacon...

This post has been edited by boomerang on October 29, 2009 11:47 pm

Halloumi is the King of all cheeses.

Nothign even comes close.

You can literallty eat Halloumi with anything.

what cheese is used when making saganaki?

This post has been edited by mickey on October 30, 2009 05:43 pm

That is how they call the cheese - saganaki.

oh ok ..thanx evro

there isnt a cheese called saganaki , this is the name which marks how you cook it ie fried .

Cheese that is best suited for saganaki is Kefalograviera , graviera from crete or elsewhere

Hmmm.I stand corrected then.

ok this is a point in history that has to be remembered and honoured...the voice of the forum has admitted making an error in a report......can our institutions survive this ,only time wil tell........

These are my two favourite hellims.





What do you cypriots prefer?

Dom, both of those hellim's you posted are shit. You gotta taste the real homemade stuff.

I like the homemade hallomi, but mum has been getting halloumi, from an italian company, and it is very good...always fresh and they charge $17 per 2 kgs, and it comes in a big tub...soft, fresh and not too salty...

@umit

I didn't get a chance to say welcome

Where is that second one from? It says "Reyha" in Arabic script.

Most likely 'cause it's exported to some Arab country.

Halloumi is the only cheese that I like. If it's grilled.

Or it's a tacit admission that Cyprus ITSELF an Arab country.

Just like Malta.

Man, this is what, my third joke post in a row? I swear the next one will not be tongue-in-cheek.

Umit, i had a chance to try it in cyprus. But you know, it's impossible to find homemade fresh hellim in Turkey.

So i at least prefer the ones coming from cyprus instead of Balıkesir.

I know domestos, at least you know what the real stuff tastes like. I is it the "Bahcivan" branded stuff that comes from Balikesir? I think "Hellim" is still not very well known in Turkey, although a friend from Adana once told me that he had tasted a something very similar to it before.

Halloumi the big cheese in America

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

By Anna Hassapi

HALLOUMI sales in the US are sky-rocketing, with some areas reportedly selling out faster than the local cheese can be imported.

The sales boom is the result of a two-year promotional campaign to establish the dairy product’s presence in the giant market, according to the Cyprus Association for the Promotion of Milk Products.

““The goal of the CheesEU campaign is to assist our partners in the US food industry at the retail level to increase awareness and sales of Halloumi cheese among the American consumer,” said Dennis Droushiotis, North American Managing Director of the Cyprus CheesEU Campaign (CCEUC).

Since the campaign’s launch two years ago, halloumi has achieved an impressive sales growth; specifically the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that halloumi imports to the US increased by 37 per cent in the first quarter of 2009, compared to the same period in 2008.

The success is largely attributed to an aggressive marketing campaign that targeted gourmets. Halloumi featured in six national food tradeshows and numerous press luncheons, while advertisements were placed in major retail and trade publications in the country.

The response was exceedingly positive. “World-renowned, celebrity chefs are discovering the unique versatility of halloumi as it can be grilled, broiled, barbequed or sautéed and still maintain its texture.

“Since the launch of the CheesEU campaign, Halloumi repeatedly appears on famous gourmet chef’s TV shows on the Food Network, such as the ‘Rachel Ray Show’. In addition, Jeff McInnis from the hit ‘Bravo TV’ show, ‘Top Chef’ season 5 featured halloumi in his dish for the episode entitled, ‘Twelve Nights of Christmas’,” said Droushiotis.

The CheesEU Campaign in the US has also focused on protecting halloumi as a traditional Cypriot product, with a US certification mark.

“Our trademark in the US helps to ensure that the American consumers will enjoy authentic halloumi from Cyprus made in the unique traditional method, that uses sheep’s and goat’s milk and folding the cheese by hand,” said Droushiotis.

Link

OH SHIT!

Dil peyniri (tongue cheese) is my favourite but I can't find it anywhere in Australia.

Once I bought this Hellim cheese from a deli thinking it was dil peyniri and it was the saltiest cheese I ever had.

Dome, what is the variants of dil peyniri if there are any...? Mild mozzarella is the nearest I tasted, but even that doesn't cut it.

Hellim has became popular in the last 5 years in turkey. Especially among salad eating and wine drinking "plaza people". Yeah some companies like Bahçıvan and Yörsan are producing hellim in Turkey but it's nothing like hellim. The most hellim-like cheese i tasted in Turkey is Antep cheese and maybe örgü cheese.

Abi I guess our dil cheese is called "low moisture part skim mozzarella cheese" or string cheese beyond edirne.




If you like Dil cheese, i think you might like Çeçil/Cical cheese from Erzurum-Kars region too. In black sea region we also have a cheese like that but i don't remember it's original name. We used to call it "uzayan peynir" when we were kids.

I haven't tasted hellim. For my money, nothing beats a good block of tulum.

Tulum cheese kicks ass!!!


But this fact brings a question with it. Which tulum is the best? Izmir, Erzincan or Kargı?

I think Izmir tulumu is perfect for making legendary toasts. Erzincan tulumu is a great appetizer with warm pide. Kargı tulumu is known by few people. It's a top class cheese and makes a great duo with pastırma in a hot loaf of bread.


You should also try Domino's Pizza's new "fit pizza" when you come to turkey. It's made with Tulum peyniri.

Domino's pizza with tulum cheese? These mthfckng multinationals learned how to win local hearts, haven't they? The first thing I look for when I land in Turkey is the Güllaç flavored ice cream... by fuckin' Algida!!!

I prefer Erzincan tulum over İzmir. Not sure if I've tried Kargı.

Whoa you guys know a lot about food. When I revisit the motherland, I'll gladly take a tour of the best and tastiest