Agricultural Cooperative of Tinos

H Association of Agricultural Cooperatives of Tinos was founded in 1951 - it was under the supervision of 13 primary Agricultural Cooperatives Of Tinos and one of Mykonos - and in 2012 it was renamed Agricultural Cooperative of Tinos, which currently has about 500 members.

The Agricultural Cooperative of Tinos, in addition to its dynamic presence in the production of dairy and cheese products, provides support to farmers in matters of information, subsidies and supplies them with all kinds of agricultural supplies (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, animal feed, hives).

The main cheese products of the Cooperative, produced over 30 years in the cooperative cheese factory in Tripotamos, is gruyere of Tinos and kopanisti of Tinos. Both are made from cow's milk and have conquered a significant part of the consumer public with their special taste and are available in supermarkets such as Sklavenitis, Vassilopoulos, etc.

We met the director of the Cooperative Manthos Villa at the dairy of the Cooperative and after guiding us in the production and maturation areas of the Tinian gruyere informed us about:

«The taste of our cheeses It is due to the milk, which is rich in ingredients, as the cows are free to graze and their food includes the herbs of the Tinian land, as well as in the production process. Every year we receive 850 tons of milk (1/3 from Mykonos) thus giving a significant income to farmers and produce 60 tons of gruyere, 15 tons of crushed, 60 tons of fresh milk for consumption, 2 tons of butter, 10 tons of rock - which they receive mainly confectioneries, their sweets and cheese pies - and 12 tons of Tinos cheese.

Our milk is the only milk of the day that circulates in Tinos. In the morning it is milked, it is collected very quickly, it is pasteurized immediately in the cheese factory, it is bottled in a hygienic paper package of one liter and within almost three hours it is on the shelves of the shops ".

At the gas station of the Agricultural Cooperative on the main road of Panagia in the city of Tinos, in addition to fresh milk and cheese products, there are other agricultural products that are produced with taste by the producers and farmers of the island. Here you will find: thyme honey, heather, flower honey, wines (white, red, organic), tsipouro, raki, vinegar, ouzo, local liqueurs, petimezi, handmade pasta and nuts, pickles, capers, kritamo, sun-dried tomatoes, herbs and myro , jams, pastries, artichokes, sauces, appetizers, halva pies, Turkish delights, macaroons, pastries, etc.

The Agricultural Cooperative of Tinos is the heart of the livestock and cheese-making of the island. So it does not make sense for a visitor to leave Tinos if he does not try and enjoy the two vendettas of the dairy, the gruyere - mild, sweet, full-bodied, buttery and the older, more spicy - and the thug, milder than Mykonos. Besides, the tradition of the island in cheese-making is distant and it is characteristic that in a French book of 1809 it was mentioned that the Tinians consumed a spicy cheese like Roquefort, that is, Kopanisti.