Why is halloumi chewy?

[lljkk]

Other cheese aren't chewy. Why is halloumi? What do 'they' do to halloumi to make it chewy?

I bought some chewy Cypriot cheese... cannot recommend. I like fatty tart sweet creamy and crumbly cheese. Not chewy.

ah nuts, I thought MN would be good oracle on this one.
Google didn't help, either !

It's a boiled cheese.

https://cheesemaking.com/products/halloumi-cheese-making-recipe

It shouldn't be 'chewy'. it goes that way when it goes cold granted but Halloumi should be soft and creamy with a crispy edge just after it's come off the BBQ or frying pan.

I make Halloumi. In fact it's super simple to make. I make it the morning before a BBQ. It made similarly to other cheese except it gets boiled hence the 'squeak'

Home made Halloumi is bloody delicious. Better than anything shop bought and also only goes rubbery once it's stone cold. Seriously I think it's worth it to make your own. All you need is Milk, Veggie rennet tablets and some muslin.

www.madmillie.com/recipe/halloumi

I was going to say the same, it’s because it’s boiled.

Basically you curdle milk,
it becomes cottage cheese,
if you blend that with butter or cream it becomes cram cheese,
if instead you warm the cottage chees gently it becomes mozzarella or get it hotter and you’ll get halloumi cheese.

So boiling cheese and cooling it makes cheese chewy?
Ahhhhh.... So does that make it UPF or what?
Or no more PF than pureed soup or mashed beans, I guess.
Cheers so much !

Come to think of it, mozzarella grated added to soup always tastes not nice, probably same texture change achieved.

Stupid question but did you cook it, because if not it’s going to be gross? You need to grill or pan fry it.

Grating mozzarella into soup?

WTf?

UPF? Ultra processed food? Erm no. Milk is curdled in a pan with an enzyme to separate the curds and whey. The enzyme is found in baby cow stomachs to help them digest and process milk. Non veggie rennet is that enzyme. Veggie stuff yes is manufactured.

The curds are pressed for a few minutes then sliced into chunks, and dropped in boiling water for about a minute and then salted.

You then slice and fry or bbq to serve Halloumj.

Thats not UPF!

You can curdle milk with any acid, but most rennet is chemically manufactured now if it’s used. You can very easily make cheese at home if you want to reduce how processed it is.

Cook it and eat immediately it won’t be chewy then.

It's the block mozzarella, not the fior di latte.
I assume it would be on top of soup like you would use gruyere on top of onion soup?

Halloumi is lovely, but there are some cheap versions which are quite bluegh. Had one which actually melted🤦

Wow. Mind blown, about making it. I’ve made various cheeses before and thought they weren’t worth it, but this sounds amazing!

There was an item on halloumi on Saturday kitchen a couple of years ago. The halloumi maker advised putting the packet, unopened in hot water for a period (20 mins? I can't remember) before then opening, slicing and cooking. Definitely gave the cheese a softer texture, so less squeaky, when eating.

The block mozzarella is for pizzas to stop the liquid from the mozz balls pooling on pizzas and making them not cook in the middle, specifically for pizzas not cooked in searingly hot earth ovens.

Not for grating into soup!

I've never heard the like.

I know what the (dry) mozzarella is for. At the end of the day it's a cheese which melts so if someone puts it on their soup... 🤷
There are soup recipes with it, quick google suggests.
It just wouldn't add much flavour like other cheese could.

It must be cooked? Ahhhh....

That's too much brain power for me. I'm keeping to cheeses that can be nice not cooked.

@lljkk you didn't try to eat it uncooked?!
Slice it and dry fry it to eat it at its best

I was going to comment till i read you tried it uncooked and that wil be why lol
Its fabulous fresh cooked but even cooled it is rank and makes a squeak against my teeth.

Technically I didn't try to eat Halloumi uncooked because I never bought the stuff. I've had halloumi in restaurants & it was fluffy, bit like some kinds of processed tofu, but also quite chewy. Every time. Kind of tasteless... I think i prefer tofu.

I bought "Cypriot grilling cheese", tried to eat that without cooking, & realised that it's chewy like halloumi is why I started thread, I reckon the CGC must be pretty much same as halloumi. The label doesn't say "halloumi" or "deep fry before serving". Label says "medium fat semi-hard cheese"

Could we put the CGC in a lasagne, would it still be chewy after being baked? Adult DS makes lasagne a lot. Else it may be binned coz I'm not interested in deep frying cheese. I don't want to fill up on that when there are so much nicer foods to eat instead. It's only a small pack, so I can forgive myself the food waste, but would still much prefer to avoid waste.

thanks to all for the cheese education, sincerely.

It literally says in the name it's grilling cheese... So why eat it without cooking
You don't need to deepfry it, just dry fry it on a pan or in airfryer.
No it will not melt on lasagna.

CGC and halloumi are basically same except where they are made. Protected name on halloumi

Yes you can add it to lasagne, just grate it and mix it into the white sauce or sprinkle on top. It's part of the traditional Cypriot macaroni bake which is just like lasagne and is divine (see: https://myfamilysfooddiary.com/cypriot-pasta-bake-makaronia-tou-fournou/)

Oh ffs it doesn't need deep frying. It needs slicing to about a half to a centimetre thick and about minute each side in a hot frying pan until the edges go golden brown . Slightly oiled. Or same on a BBQ.

Trying to eat cold uncooked halloumi or 'cypriot frying cheese' (which sounds like the cheese version of I can't believe it's not butter') is akin to trying to eat a raw turnip.

If halloumi doesn't float your boat fine but I'm not sure it warrants this much drama!

@lljkk I didn't say deep fry it; I said dry fry it I.e. hot frying pan with no oil to brown it on both sides.

Also, halloumi/cypriot cheese is definitely not an UPF - it's a traditional part of the Mediterranean diet and has been made in the eastern Med for millennia.

Cheese is important! Hence the drama. (comment meant to be amusing irony)

I stay in a town full of immigrant food, so this was just an impulse purchase that didn't go perfectly. I'll try to coax DS to add it to his lasagne. Sorted. Thanks!