The AnyCheese Holiday Gift Guide

Sheep Milk Cheeses from Greece

Discover cheeses made from sheep milk in Greece, from historic recipes to contemporary creations.

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Feta

Feta is a Greek brined white cheese made from sheep's milk or a mix of sheep and goat's milk. It is crumbly and slightly grainy, tangy and salty, and it anchors dishes like Greek salad and spanakopita.

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Goat's and sheep's milk
Texture: Soft, white, aged in brine
Flavor: Sharp to mild

Manouri

Manouri is a Greek semi-soft fresh whey cheese made from goat or sheep milk as a by-product of feta production. Cream added to the whey makes it richer and far less salty than feta.

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Goat's or sheep's milk
Texture: Smooth, dense
Flavor: Rich, milky, tangy, slightly citrusy

Katiki Domokou

Katiki Domokou is a soft white Greek cheese made from goat and sheep milk in Domokos, Phthiotis. It has protected designation of origin status, a low fat content, and it usually goes on toast or dakos.

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Sheep’s milk, goat’s milk, or mixtures
Texture: Spreadable
Flavor: Sour, refreshing

Sfela

Sfela is a semi-hard cheese from the Peloponnese region of Greece. Made from sheep's milk or a mix of sheep and goat milk, it is often fried due to its high melting point. Sfela has a salty, tangy flavor, making …

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Raw sheep’s milk or combination with goat’s milk
Texture: Semi-Hard
Flavor: Unique personality

Kasseri

Kasseri is a pale yellow, medium-hard to hard Greek cheese made from sheep milk with at most 20% goat's milk. It belongs to the pasta filata family and is best known as the cheese in saganaki and kasseropita.

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Goat's and sheep's milk
Texture: Firm to hard
Flavor: Rich

Kalathaki Limnou

Kalathaki Limnou is a fresh brined cheese from the Greek island of Lemnos, made from sheep's milk with up to 30 percent goat's milk. Protected as a PDO since 1996, it is named for the small basket molds that leave …

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Pasteurized sheep's milk, Goat’s milk (up to 30%)
Texture: Soft
Flavor: Pleasant, slightly acidic

Kefalograviera

Kefalograviera is a hard Greek table cheese made from sheep's milk or a mix of sheep's and goat's milk. It tastes salty, smells rich, and shows up most often fried as saganaki or grated over pasta.

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Sheep’s milk or mixtures with up to 10% goat’s milk; sometimes cow's and sheep's milk (60:40)
Texture: Firm, elastic
Flavor: Pleasant

Krasotyri

Krasotyri, or "wine cheese," is a semi-hard cheese from Greece that is aged in wine lees, giving it a unique purple rind and a distinct grape-flavored undertone. This cheese has a creamy, rich texture and a subtle wine-infused flavor, making …

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Sheep or caprine milk, or mixtures
Texture: Semihard
Flavor: Slightly sour

Anthotyro

Anthotyros is a Greek cheese made from sheep or goat milk mixed with whey, about nine parts milk to one. It comes fresh, soft and sweet with no salt, or dried into a hard salty cheese similar to Mizithra.

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Goat's or sheep's milk
Texture: Hard, whey
Flavor: Salty, tangy

Pichtogalo Chanion

Pichtogalo Chanion is a traditional Greek cheese from the region of Chania in Crete. Made from goat’s or sheep’s milk, it has a rich, creamy texture and a mild, slightly tangy flavor. It’s often used in Cretan cooking for pies, …

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Sheep's or goat's milk
Texture: Soft, spreadable
Flavor: Sweet and acid, fresh and pleasant

Galotyri

Galotyri is a fresh Greek cheese from Epirus and Thessaly, made from pasteurized sheep's milk that is sometimes mixed with goat's milk. White, creamy and lightly tart, it is usually spread on bread, and it has held PDO status since …

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Sheep’s milk, or a combination of sheep’s and goat’s milk
Texture: Soft, curd
Flavor: Moderately sour

Graviera Naxou

Graviera Naxou is a yellow hard cheese from the Greek island of Naxos, made with pasteurized cow's milk and up to 20 percent sheep's milk. It is known for its delicate, slightly sharp aroma and its PDO status, held since …

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Predominantly cow's milk, sheep’s or goat’s milk (up to 20%)
Texture: Elastic

Formaella Arachovas Parnassou

Formaella Arachovas Parnassou is a semi-hard Greek cheese made mainly from sheep's milk in the Parnassus mountains around Arachova. A protected designation of origin since 1996, it is known for its strong peppery flavor and for being fried as saganaki.

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Sheep's milk, goat's milk, or a mixture of both
Texture: Semi-hard
Flavor: Peppery, spicy

Xynomyzithra Kritis

Xynomyzithra is a Greek whey cheese made from ewes' and/or goats' milk, the sour version of Mizithra. Soft, snow-white and moist, it is best known served with honey and baked into small Cretan cheese pies called kalitsounia.

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Sheep’s and goat’s milk whey, or a combination
Texture: Soft, creamy
Flavor: Sour, a bit acidic, sweetish

Xynotyro

Xynotyro is an unpasteurized Greek whey cheese made from sheep's milk or goat's milk. It is hard and flaky, with a pungent aroma and a sweet and sour taste close to yogurt.

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Goat's or sheep's milk
Texture: Hard, whey
Flavor: Burnt caramel, sour, sweet

Batzos

Batzos is a Greek brined cheese made from sheep's milk, goat's milk, or a mixture of the two. It is rindless, semi-hard to hard, full of irregular holes, and salty with a slightly piquant edge. It has held EU PDO …

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Goat's and sheep's milk
Texture: Hard , Semi-Hard
Flavor: Sourish and slightly piquant

Graviera Kritis

Graviera Kritis is the Cretan version of graviera, a hard Greek sheep's milk cheese with protected designation of origin status. It ripens for at least five months and tastes slightly sweet, with a burnt caramel note.

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Sheep's milk, Goat's milk (up to 20%)
Texture: Hard
Flavor: Nutty, Sweet

Graviera

Graviera is a hard Greek cheese made in wheels from sheep's or cow's milk, named after the gruyere it resembles. It tastes slightly sweet, sometimes with a burnt caramel note, and ranks second only to feta in Greece.

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Cow's or sheep's milk
Texture: Hard
Flavor: Nutty, sweet

Graviera Agrafon

Graviera Agrafon is made in the Agrafa region of Greece. It's a hard cheese from sheep’s milk or a mix of sheep’s and goat’s milk. Aged for at least five months, it develops a sweet and fruity flavor, slightly nutty …

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Sheep’s milk, Goat’s milk (up to 30%)
Texture: Compact
Flavor: Sweet

Myzithra

Mizithra is a Greek whey cheese made from sheep's or goat's milk and whey, produced mainly on Crete. It is sold fresh and soft like ricotta, or salted and dried into the grating cheese Greeks sprinkle over hot pasta.

Country: Greece
Milk Type: Goat's or sheep's milk
Texture: Soft, whey
Flavor: Mild

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