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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Cyprus

Anariαναρή

Anari is a boundary entry, set by heat, not by microbes. During halloumi making, the whey left after the curd is lifted out is topped up with some milk and heated to 70–80 °C, and the whey proteins rise as soft curds. It is sold fresh, soft and mild, or dried in cold air until hard enough to grate. Made in 5 steps over 1 h. The longest step, heat until the curds rise, takes 1 h (Economides S 1987) and runs at 70–80 °C (Economides S 1987).

Key numbers
Main step1 hReported[economides1987]Heat until the curds rise
Temperature70–80 °CReported[economides1987]Heat until the curds rise

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedIn a 1986 trial, 20 kg of milk gave 0.99 kg of anari (sheep), 0.78 kg (goat), 0.85 kg (sheep and goat) and none from cow milk.
First whey from halloumi making · Sheep, goat or mixed; a 1986 trial got no anari from cow milk[economides1987]
Milk · A small amount is added to the whey before heating[economides1987]
Salt (optional) · Fresh anari is sold slightly salted or unsalted[papademas2017]
Starter: none; the curd is formed by heat

Total time across the recorded steps: 1 h

Start
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What changes: Starting material: the whey left after the halloumi curd is lifted out

Step 1 of 5
Keep the whey from halloumi
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The whey drains from the pressed halloumi curd; the halloumi pieces are later cooked in what is left after the anari is taken off.

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

What makes this one different

Anari is the whey cheese made alongside halloumi, from the same whey, before the halloumi pieces are cooked in it. In a 1986 trial, sheep and goat whey gave anari but cow-milk whey gave none.

Boundary
A whey cheese set by heat, not by microbes
Milk
Sheep and goat halloumi whey with a little milk; not made from cow whey
Yield
About 1 kg from the whey of 20 kg of sheep milk

Related ferments

Variants

  • Fresh anariSoft, moist and fragile; slightly salted or unsalted
  • Dried anariDried in cold air until hard; grated

History and sources

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

Anari is made in Cyprus as a by-product of halloumi making. In 1986 the Cyprus Agricultural Research Institute measured anari yields alongside halloumi from sheep, goat and cow milk.

  1. [economides1987] Economides S., Georghiades E., Mavrogenis A.P. 1987, The effect of different milks on the yield and chemical composition of halloumi cheese, Technical Bulletin 90, Agricultural Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Nicosiagov
  2. [papademas2017] Papademas P., Bintsis T., Alichanidis E., Ardö Y. 2017, Whey cheeses (heat coagulated), book chapter, Wiley, doi:10.1002/9781119046165.ch13 (abstract)book