Nabil:

In the Recipes section, I noticed you had posted a recipe for Haloumi.  I made it today and it is brining now.  When you have made this cheese, how long did you brine it?  If for an extended period of time, did you refrigerate it or leave it brining at room temperature?  I have it in a covered container on the counter, but could easily transfer it to the cheese cave it necessary.  Your thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Although I am not Nabil, please have my two methods of salting after floating the cheese in whey:

- Salt the two sides of the slices and put them each on top of the other. put them in a plastic bag or container, and keep refrigerated. This is the way you should consume the cheese within 24 hours.

- Make a brine solution (total quantity according to your needs) from 1 liter of water, 200 grams of salt and 1 shallow ts of granulated CaCl. Keep the slices/slabs of cheese in this solution refrigerated, even for several month. Before frying, soak the cheese in clean water for a couple of hours to draw out excess saltiness.

Jeanne,
I’ve never given Haloumi a try but I did want to say welcome back to the forum.
I’ve also been on a cheese vacation but now I’m back at it, although not at full force just yet.
I’ve got three cheeses under my belt so far this season; parmesan, romano and stirred cheddar.
With each attempt I feel a little more comfortable with the process and I’m once again starting to feel the excitement I’ve experienced in the past.
After reading your post I gave the Haloumi recipe a read and it sounds as if it would be a fun cheese to make. I’ve never tasted this variety of cheese but I might just have to give it a try.
Thanks for the idea and again, welcome back.

Dave

Thanks for the “welcome back.”  I took the Haloumi out of the brine tonight and it’s very salty.  So it’s now soaking in plain water to draw some of the salt out.  It’s all trial and error for me.

Jeanne,
I’ve been doing some research on this type of cheese since I plan on giving it a try within the next couple of weeks…
Once thing that I did read, just last night, is that if the cheese is too salty for your taste simply soak it in some milk for a couple of hours.
Of course I have no idea if this really does work but this information was from a cheese maker that I do trust. Hopefully this will help.
Also, this same cheese maker says that the cheese can be altered by soaking in a milk, garlic and herb mixture for a couple of hours. In her words it really adds some depth to the cheese when pan fried.
If you do happen to give this a try, please let us know how it turns out. I’m really looking forward to making this variety of cheese.

Dave

I’m not familiar with how to serve this cheese.  It’s pan-fried?  Can you elaborate, please?

Yes, panfry the haloumi- slice it about 1m thick and sprikle with oregano, fresh or dried. Fry till it is golden. Yummie!

Jeanne….
From the pics that I’ve seen of pan fried Halloumi it does look good. Now I KNOW that I have to make this cheese.

Dave

I’ll give you a report soon as I try it.  It’s still a little salty, but I haven’t tried the milk.  Will try that and pan-fry up a batch and see how it is.  Thanks to both Bezza and Dave.

That was 1 cm thick (not 1m!)

Bezza

I didn’t catch it because I am mathematically challenged and would have to look up a conversion to inches anyway.  Thanks for the clarification.

1 cm = approx 3/8”

I wouldn’t sprinkle spices before frying, they will burn and taste bitter.
The most common way to serve Haloumi is to fry in olive oil (not deep fry LOL), cut it in cubes before or after frying, and spread it over a vegetable salad or greek salad (it should look like croutons).

Bon Apetit

Alex - 03 November 2009 02:44 PM

Although I am not Nabil, please have my two methods of salting after floating the cheese in whey:

- Salt the two sides of the slices and put them each on top of the other. put them in a plastic bag or container, and keep refrigerated. This is the way you should consume the cheese within 24 hours.

- Make a brine solution (total quantity according to your needs) from 1 liter of water, 200 grams of salt and 1 shallow ts of granulated CaCl. Keep the slices/slabs of cheese in this solution refrigerated, even for several month. Before frying, soak the cheese in clean water for a couple of hours to draw out excess saltiness.

i have noting to add on what Alex said here, thanks Alex for the great tips

I tried the Haloumi.  I gave it a quick fry with a little olive oil infused with garlic, browned it on both sides.  Very tasty.  I got the extra saltiness out by soaking in milk for about 24 hours.