Oil cheese

Η Zakynthos proud of it oil cheese her, one extremely spicy goat's cheese which matures for months in Zakynthian olive oil.

The production of oil cheese it is tied to the cheese-making tradition of the island, but also of the wider Mediterranean tradition, to create oil cheeses to preserve them over time, the times when there were no electric refrigerators. What makes the oil mill of Zakynthos stand out from its counterparts in other regions - such as Mytilene, the Cyclades and Crete - is the particularly peppery and spicy taste of, a result of its long stay in the olive oil.

Zakynthos oil cheese is goat and sheep cheese, skinless, with larger and smaller holes, solid, not creamy. From the moment it enters the oil, after two or three months have passed, it begins to brown and pepper slightly and the intensity of its flavor is completed in about a year. Then it is strongly peppery and reminiscent of the good kopanista of Mykonos.

The buttermilk has two categories of friends. Those who prefer it fresh, before it matures too much in the oil, so it still retains its freshness and its buttery texture, and those who want it so spicy that he wants a lot of wine to balance his power – another thing the maracles don't want! – and that's why they call it and piotiri (drinkable wine). Of course, among the extreme versions there are also those of intermediate intensity, so there are as many oil producers as there are producers (certified or private). Homemade cheeses are often tastier, because they use the controlled unpasteurized milk of their sheep.

The preparation of oil cheese it is done as follows: We take the cheeses from their dairies and place them on wooden boards, turning them over every day to drain. After they are dry and dried, we place them in cauldrons with oil, making sure they do not touch the base of the cauldron, because the curd that will come out of the cheese will collect at the bottom. The olive oil, being lighter, will rise and thus cover and coat the cheeses. Each time the oil we use is the one left over from the previous year, which we supplement with a new one, because the old acts as leaven for the new. The cheese stays in the cauldron for at least three months. When we take it out, we wipe it and let it dry, and then we pack it.

The buttermilk, except coveted mezes, it is used grated on the rich braised dishes, in egg-lemon soup, in oil-oregano meats, in filling mixtures. In many foods that are cooked in the oven or in the pot, it is added in bite-sized pieces, such as e.g. rabbit or rooster or chicken (stuffed) or in the flesh.