Quick halloumi facts
There are many recipes that include the use of halloumi. We love to eat it by simply putting it into a hot pan, without the addition of any oil, and lightly cook it on both sides until golden brown. A squeeze of lime at the end before serving is always delicious.
We are no nutrition experts but will say this. If you are using non-homogenised milk from local farmers that is as fresh as possible, then that’s all there really is to it. Halloumi is made from fresh milk, with no additives other than water and rennet and they are in very small quantities. It will contain some cholesterol and it is rolled in salt. I’m sure it’s probably not good to eat all the time given the fat content but you’d be better asking the Cypriots about this fact.
Halloumi hails from Cyprus where it has been made for many centuries. Traditionally it is made from a combination of goat’s milk and sheep’s milk. Most industrially made halloumi is now made from cow’s milk.
Halloumi is called squeaky cheese due to its texture. It’s semi-hard and spongey and when cooked, it squeaks between your teeth. It is usually brined to keep it fresh. Because it is rolled in salt and brined, it has a much stronger salt taste than many other cheeses.
If you can’t make your own, paneer and kefalogravia are good substitutes.
It certainly is and it’s actually one of the best ways to eat halloumi. Its high heat point means it won’t melt when you heat it.
It’s made from milk, heating it and creating curds and then continuing to cook down the curds. Follow our recipe below for a simple, food proof way of making halloumi.
Making halloumi at home
Knowing how to make halloumi at home is not as hard as you might think. When we eat food that we love when we are travelling, we always try where we can to make it back home. We love cooking and trying new things but we also love to keep sharing in the memories of those special travel moments.
We recommend starting off small when you are making halloumi for the first time, otherwise, you run the risk of wasting a lot of milk if you just don’t get it right.
The great thing about this though is that once you master the technique (which isn’t hard by the way), you can upscale it for any amount. The process and the time taken to make the halloumi doesn’t change at all.
Note: Homemade halloumi is beautiful but it will take time. For this halloumi recipe, there are a number of processes where you just need to wait, rest and cook. It is recommended that you make this recipe only when you have time to hang around the kitchen and watch over every move.
Cook’s tip: We use a timer for every step just so we don’t get distracted doing other things.
Ingredients for halloumi
- 2 litres non-homogenised milk
- 1.0 ml liquid rennet
- 30 ml distilled (non-chlorinated) water
- Non-iodised salt ( we use sea salt flakes)
Note: If you don’t have access to distilled water you can boil it. Just make sure it is completely cooled before using in this recipe.
Utensils
- Double boiler. If you don’t have a specific double boiler, just place one saucepan inside another. Unlike melting chocolate or making custard where you can use a glass dish over a saucepan, this won’t work for making halloumi. You need heavy-based saucepans for this to work properly.
- Thermometer
- Spoon
- Ladle
- Muslin
- Colander
- Bowl
- Baking tray and wire rack (or you can use a sushi mat)
- 2 heavy boards (eg cutting boards)
- Weights
Method – How to make halloumi cheese
Put some water in the bottom of the double boiler and heat. Pour the milk into the top of the double boiler. Stir occasionally whilst bringing the temperature up to 32°C (89.6°F).
Cook’s tip: It’s important to have a thermometer that is accurate. We use a thermometer used by coffee baristas for heating their milk.
Whilst the milk is coming up to temperature, put the 1.0 ml of liquid rennet into 30 ml of distilled water.
When the milk reaches 32°C add the combined rennet and water into the milk.
Start stirring the milk before adding the rennet and then stir it through thoroughly to distribute the rennet. Don’t stir ferociously and only stir for one minute.
Turn the heat off and put the lid on the saucepan. Leave to rest for 40 minutes. Do not stir the milk during this period.
Once the 40 minutes is over, the milk should have set into curds. You can put a knife into it gently and raise it up to see if this has worked.
Note: This is a critical point in the process. If the milk has not set slightly at this stage. If your milk has not set perfectly, you will just need to give it some more time. Do not, under any circumstances, add more rennet as it will destroy the curds already made.
If the curd has set, cut it into 1″ cubes. Using a sharp knife, cut up and down, left to right and then diagonally under the surface of the curd.
Cover and rest for 5 minutes.
Stir the curds gently then bring the heat back up to 40°C (104°F). This will take around 20 minutes.
During this process the curds will shrink. At around the 20 minute mark, leave it to rest with the lid on for about 10 minutes. During this time, the curds should sink to the bottom.
Line a colander with muslin and place it over the top of another bowl that will be used to capture and retain the whey. Empty the curds and whey into the colander. Let sit for several minutes to drain. Pull the muslin out of the colander
Place the muslin with curds onto a board, lightly shape and flatten and wrap it up. Place another heavy board on top of the wrapped curd and then place weights on top, ensuring that the cheese underneath is kept flat at all times. For this amount of cheese, use about a 2kg (4.4lb) weight.
Press for 10 minutes and then take the board off and turn the curd over. Repeat weight process and leave for 20 minutes.
Remove the muslin and cut the cheese. With this amount of cheese we simply cut it in half.
Place the cheese on top of a baking tray.
Meanwhile, heat the whey back up to 90°C (194°F). Any remaining curd will rise to the surface. If it does, skim it all off and discard.
Bring the whey up to 97°C (206°F). Lower the halloumi gently into the hot whey. This process makes the halloumi heat-resistant.
Turn the heat off once again and leave the halloumi in the whey for 45 minutes, with the lid on. (The head of the whey at the end was approximately 60°C (140°F)
Remove from whey and drain once again on wire rack.
Mix together salt and mint leaves (chopped fresh or dried) and roll the halloumi in this mix on all sides. Fold in half (on top of itself) and press down.
Store in brine or vacuum seal and keep in the fridge.
This recipe produced approximately 250g of halloumi. Making a small amount also means that the halloumi is much thinner than you are probably used to seeing. Once it is folded in half however, it forms a good thickness.
How to make halloumi
Making halloumi at home is fun and it's such a proud moment when you realise you've made this beautiful cheese just out of milk! Halloumi cheese originates from Cyprus but is also found in Greece. It's also known as "squeaky cheese" due to the sound it makes between your teeth when it is being eaten. We hope you have fun making this halloumi cheese.
Ingredients
- 2 litres non-homogenised milk
- 1.0 ml liquid rennet
- 30 ml distilled (non-chlorinated) water
- Non-iodised salt
Instructions
Utensils
- Double boiler. If you don't have a specific double boiler, just place one saucepan inside another. Unlike melting chocolate or making custard where you can use a glass dish over a saucepan, this won't work for making halloumi. You need heavy-based saucepans for this to work properly.
- Thermometer, dropper, measuring spoon
- Spoon
- Ladle
- Muslin
- Colander
- Bowl
- Baking tray and wire rack
- 2 heavy boards (eg cutting boards)
- Weights
Method
- Put some water in the bottom of the double boiler and heat. Pour the milk into the top of the double boiler. Stir occasionally whilst bringing the temperature up to 32°C (89.6°F)
- Whilst the milk is coming up to temperature, put the liquid rennet into the distilled water.
- When the milk reaches 32°C, it is time to add the combined rennet and water into the milk. Before doing so, start stirring the milk, then add the rennet/water. This helps to distribute it evenly. Don't stir ferociously and only stir for one minute.
- Turn the heat off and put the lid on the saucepan. Leave to rest for 40 minutes. Do not stir the milk during this period.
- Once the 40 minutes is over, the milk should have set into curds. You can put a knife into it gently and raise it up to see if this has worked. It's very obvious at this point to see whether the curds have set or not. The curds should be quite thick and in one large block.
- If the curd has set, cut it into 1" cubes. Using a sharp knife, cut up and down, left to right and then diagonally under the surface of the curd.
- Cover and rest for 5 minutes.
- Stir the curds gently then bring the heat back up to 40°C (104°F). This will take around 20 minutes. Note we actually find that our temperature is usually already around 40 degrees C. If this is the case, don't heat any more.
- During this process, the curds will shrink. This means the 1" cubes will separate and become smaller. At around the 20-minute mark, leave it to rest with the lid on for about 20minutes. During this time, the curds should sink to the bottom.
- Line a colander with muslin and place it over the top of another bowl that will be used to capture and retain the whey. Empty the curds and whey into the colander. Let sit for several minutes to drain. Pull the muslin out of the colander
- Place the muslin with curds onto a board, lightly shape and flatten and wrap it up. Place another heavy board on top of the wrapped curd and then place weights on top, ensuring that the cheese underneath is kept flat at all times. For this amount of cheese, use about a 2kg (4.4lb) weight. We usually put some paper towel (kitchen towel) under the boards to soak up any excess liquid that runs out as the cheese is flattened.
- Press for 10 minutes and then take the board off and turn the curd over. Repeat weight process and leave for 20 minutes.
- Remove the muslin and cut the cheese.
- Place the cheese on top of a baking tray.
- Meanwhile, heat the whey back up to 90°C (194°F). Any remaining curd will rise to the surface. If it does, skim it all off and discard. We rarely have any leftover curd rise to the surface.
- Bring the whey up to 97°C (206°F). Lower the halloumi gently into the hot whey. This process makes the halloumi heat-resistant.
- Turn the heat off once again and leave the halloumi in the whey for 45 minutes, with the lid on. (The heat of the whey at the end was approximately 60°C (140°F)
- Remove from whey and drain once again on wire rack.
- Mix together salt and mint leaves (chopped fresh or dried) and roll the halloumi in this mix on all sides. Fold in half (on top of itself) and press down.
- Store in brine or vacuum seal and keep in the fridge.
Notes
If the milk does not set after adding rennet, you will just need to give it some more time. Do not, under any circumstances, add more rennet as it will destroy the curds already made.
We find that after cutting the curd, the temperature is still very close to 40°C. So, we stir until it does reach 40°C and then we turn the heat off. Our heat maintains at this temperature for about 20 minutes as we stir the curds.
We use a timer for every step just so we don't get distracted doing other things.
This recipe produced approximately 250g of halloumi. Making a small amount also means that the halloumi is much thinner than you are probably used to seeing. Once it is folded in half however, it forms a good thickness.
We used vegetarian liquid rennet in this recipe.
Only use non-homogenised milk. Do not use homogenised.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 211Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 332mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 14g
This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix.
jessica
hi! this recipe looks amazing! however, I live in Japan and can’t get my hands on rennet. Have you tried making this halloumi with anything other than rennet, like lemon juice? thanks 🙂
Kerri McConnel
Hi Jessica, you could try vinegar or lemon juice I suppose but as I have no experience making it with anything other than rennet, I can’t confirm that it will actually work.
Shraddha
thanks for sharing the recipe and the images make it simple and easy to understand. I think I will have to try with lemon, in India.