Skip to main content
Support

Browse by category

All categories
Home

Cheese from Greece, Epirus and Thessaly

Galotyri PDOΓαλοτύρι

A soft, spreadable acid-curd cheese of Epirus and Thessaly. Sheep or goat milk is boiled, left in containers for a day, salted, and stirred now and then for a few more days to promote acidity. It is then packed into containers and kept cold; cheese from untreated milk is held at least two months.

Fully documentedCheese2.1 monthsPDO (EU; entered in the register by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 of 12 June 1996; PDO-GR-0443)Family: Fresh lactic (acid-set) cheese family

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe specification gives only the salt share; no batch size.
Sheep milk, goat milk or a mix of the two[galotyri-sum]
Salt3–4 %[galotyri-sum]
Rennet (optional)[galotyri-sum]
Starterin laboratory-made Galotyri, the artisan type was fermented with a natural starter and the industrial type with an industrial starter

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.1 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play

What changes: The sheep or goat milk is brought to the boil

Step 1 of 4
Boil the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The milk is heated to boiling point.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

A soft, spreadable acid-curd cheese of Epirus and Thessaly. Sheep or goat milk is boiled, left in containers for a day, salted, and stirred now and then for a few more days to promote acidity. It is then packed into containers and kept cold; cheese from untreated milk is held at least two months. Made in 4 steps over 2.1 months. The longest step, pack and keep cold, takes at least 2 months (Application for registration) and runs at up to 8 °C (Αίτηση καταχώρισης ΠΟΠ 'Γαλοτύρι'). Salt is 3–4 % (Application for registration).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsSet[galotyri-sum][galotyri-el]Pack and keep cold
Temperatureup to 8 °CSet[galotyri-el]Pack and keep cold
Salt3–4 %Set[galotyri-sum]Salt and stir
AciditypH 3.8–4Measured[rogga2005]Pack and keep cold

What makes this one different

An acid-curd cheese made from boiled milk that stands a day, is then salted and stirred for a few days to promote acidity, with rennet optional. The specification counts it among the oldest Greek traditional cheeses.

Milk
Sheep milk, goat milk or a mix
Acidity
Commercial fresh cheeses at pH 3.8–4.0
Holding
At least 2 months at up to 8 °C when made from untreated milk

Related ferments

Safety

The low pH stops Listeria monocytogenes from growing, but in challenge tests it and E. coli O157:H7 survived for weeks in cold-stored cheese. The specification requires untreated-milk cheese to be held at least two months at up to 8 °C. Where untreated milk is used, ANSES's raw-milk advice applies. Pregnant women, people over 65, people with weak immunity and young children should not eat raw-milk cheeses, except cooked pressed ones such as Comté.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes added after making could not grow but survived 28 days in commercial cheese at 4 °C; Escherichia coli O157:H7 added after making survived 28 days in artisan cheese at 4 °C but was undetectable by culture enrichment after 14 days in the industrial cheese.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The specification counts it among the oldest Greek traditional cheeses, made with traditional methods and ripened inside Epirus and Thessaly.

  1. [galotyri-sum] Application for registration, PDO 'Galotyri', summary of Ministerial Decision 313031/11.1.94, summary sheet GR/0443, English version, eAmbrosia registerspec
  2. [galotyri-el] Αίτηση καταχώρισης ΠΟΠ 'Γαλοτύρι', summary sheet GR/0443, Greek original, eAmbrosia registerspec
  3. [reg1107] Commission Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 of 12 June 1996 on the registration of geographical indications and designations of origin under the procedure laid down in Article 17 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, Official Journal L 148, 21.6.1996 (lists Galotyri (PDO))spec
  4. [rogga2005] Rogga KJ, Samelis J, Kakouri A, Katsiari MC, Savvaidis IN, Kontominas MG 2005, Survival of Listeria monocytogenes in Galotyri, a traditional Greek soft acid-curd cheese, stored aerobically at 4 °C and 12 °C, International Dairy Journal 15:59-67 (abstract)paper
  5. [lekkas2006] Lekkas C, Kakouri A, Paleologos E, Voutsinas LP, Kontominas MG, Samelis J 2006, Survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Galotyri cheese stored at 4 and 12 °C, Food Microbiology 23:268-276 (abstract)paper
  6. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov