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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Greece

AnthotyrosΑνθότυρος

Anthotyros is a Greek whey cheese, made by heating the whey left from Feta or hard cheeses, sometimes with milk added, until its proteins clot. It is a boundary entry. The fresh cheese is heat-set, not fermented, though lactic bacteria later grow in it during cold storage. A dried, salted form keeps longer. Made in 4 steps over 35 days – 40 days. The longest step, pack and keep cold, takes 35–40 days (Sameli N 2021) and runs at 4 °C (Sameli N 2021).

Key numbers
Main step35–40 daysMeasured[sameli2021]Pack and keep cold
Temperature4 °CMeasured[sameli2021]Pack and keep cold
AciditypH 6.8Measured[sameli2021]Pack and keep cold

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo fixed recipe or amounts were found; the whey-to-milk share varies by dairy.
Sheep and goat whey · From Feta or cooked hard cheeses such as Kefalotyri and Graviera[sameli2021]
Raw milk (sometimes) · Added to the whey before heating[samelis2022]
No starter culture · None is used after heating[samelis2022]
Starter: none (heat-set)

Total time across the recorded steps: 35 days – 40 days

Start
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What changes: Sheep and goat whey from the day's cheesemaking goes into a vat

Step 1 of 4
Collect the whey
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Whey left from Feta, Kefalotyri or Graviera; some dairies add raw milk.

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

Like Myzithra it is a whey cheese set by heat, not by rennet or bacteria; no starter is added after heating. Dry anthotyros is salted and dried, much as Myzithra is.

Milk
Sheep and goat whey, sometimes with milk
Composition, fresh
pH 6.1, moisture 71 %, fat 13 %, salt 0.6 % (mean of 4 retail samples)
Composition, dry
pH 6.4, moisture 37.5 %, fat 38.6 %, salt 2.6 % (one retail sample)

Related ferments

Variants

  • Fresh anthotyrosSoft, unsalted or lightly salted; kept cold.
  • Dry anthotyrosSalted and dried; 37.5 % moisture and 2.6 % salt in one sample.
  • Partly skimmed anthotyrosLess fat (12 % in 3 retail samples).

Safety

Fresh whey cheese is highly perishable because of its high pH and moisture. Keep it at 4 °C or colder; studies found Listeria monocytogenes can grow in it if it is contaminated after heating.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes, which can grow in the fresh cheese at its high pH.

History and sources

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

Greek whey cheeses are made at both farm and industrial scale from the whey of Feta and hard cheeses.

  1. [sameli2021] Sameli N., Sioziou E., Bosnea L., Kakouri A., Samelis J. 2021, Assessment of the spoilage microbiota during refrigerated (4 °C) vacuum-packed storage of fresh Greek Anthotyros whey cheese without or with a crude enterocin A-B-P-containing extract, Foods 10(12):2946paper
  2. [samelis2022] Sameli N., Samelis J. 2022, Growth and biocontrol of Listeria monocytogenes in Greek Anthotyros whey cheese without or with a crude enterocin A-B-P extract, Foods 11(3):334paper
  3. [pappa2023] Pappa E.C. et al. 2023, Compositional differences of Greek cheeses of limited production, Foods 12(12):2426, table 3paper
  4. [wp] Wikipedia, Anthotyros (outline only)wiki