Kefalograviera, a Greek cheese, is made in the mountainous north.
Learn more about Greek cheeses. This week, I am talking about Kefalograviera, one of the most popular Greek cheeses.It is produced in the rugged mountains of Epirus and Macedonia from sheep’s milk or a combination of sheep’s and goat’s milk.
Kefalograviera is a hard yellow cheese that’s a cross between Kefalotyri and Graviera. It has an intense, piquant flavor, akin to traditional Kefalotyri (a salty, intensely flavored sheep’s milk cheese), but also has the mellowness of Graviera. It is distinguished by its firm texture and by the air holes spread throughout its body. Its flavor ranges from mild to medium. It is made with sheep’s milk or a combination of sheep’s, and goat’s milk. Three specific areas are recognized as protected designations of origin: Western Macedonia, Epirus, and Aitoloakarnania, in western mainland Greece. Kefalograviera makes a wonderful addition to baked dishes and gratins, and an excellent accompaniment for Greek spirits and full-bodied red wines.
It is a new cheese in Greece, barely 30 years old, yet it has become one of the most important commercially, with some 3,000 tons produced around the country annually.
