There is so much to love about this salty, squeaky cheese, and now you can make it yourself at home. We’ve provided all you need to make the best haloumi you will have tasted short of travelling to Cyprus from scratch with a hint of rosemary
Looking for more cheese dishes?
Ingredients
Equipment
rosemary haloumi
Method
1.Place milk in a large saucepan fitted with the cooking thermometer over low heat; slowly heat the milk to 38°C. Meanwhile, combine rennet and the boiled, cooled water in a sterilised jug. When the milk reaches 38°C, remove the thermometer and turn off the heat. Stir in the rennet mixture with a sterilised metal spoon for 2 minutes or until well combined.
2.Cover pan with a lid; stand for 1 hour or until the milk has coagulated and curds form. During this time, keep the temperature at 38°C; to do this, turn the heat on to medium for 30 seconds every 15 minutes.
3.When the curds have set, use a large sterilised sharp knife to cut a cross-hatch pattern into the curds to create 3cm pieces. Maintaining the temperature at 38°C, stand for 5 minutes, then stir the curds every 5 minutes for 30 minutes to release the whey.
4.Line a colander with muslin, leaving plenty of excess cloth overhanging the sides; place over a bowl. Using a sterilised mesh spoon; spoon curds into colander, reserving the whey. Stir in rosemary. Cover top with overhanging muslin; weigh down with a heavy weight for 2 hours at room temperature.
5.Transfer haloumi in muslin to a 9½ cm (3¼-cup) square cake pan, pressing down firmly to fit. Weigh down with a heavy weight (a square oil bottle works well); refrigerate for 1 hour.
6.Make a brine solution by combining salt with the extra water in a large container with a lid.
7.Heat the reserved whey to 85°C. Remove haloumi from pan, discard muslin; cut haloumi into 6 pieces. Working in batches, cook haloumi in the whey for 10 minutes or until it floats to the surface; remove, place in the brine.
Keeps 1 month.
To measure the rennet you’ll need a small (1ml or 5ml) syringe available from pharmacies. You can also use the syringe to measure the boiled water.
You can pan-fry haloumi immediately or keep it refrigerated in the brine for up to a month.
The longer you keep the haloumi, the firmer the texture becomes and the salter it will be. Pat the haloumi dry before pan-frying.
Note
