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Cheese from Greece, Domokos area of the Othrys mountains

Katiki Domokou PDOΚατίκι Δομοκού

Pasteurised goat milk, or goat and sheep milk, is cooled to 27–28 °C and left at 20–22 °C to sour and curdle, with or without a little rennet. The soft curd is broken up and drained in cloth sacks until it holds 75–80% water, lightly salted and kept cold as a white, creamy spread.

DocumentedCheese0.5 minPDO (EU, 1996; Greek Ministerial Decision 313048/1994)Family: Fresh lactic (acid-set) cheese family

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe specification describes the method but gives no fixed batch.
Goat milk, or a mix of goat and sheep milkFrom breeds reared traditionally in the area; pasteurised[sum-katiki][lapidakis2022]
RennetOptional[sum-katiki]
SaltAbout 1%[lapidakis2022]

Total time across the recorded steps: 0.5 min

Start
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27–28 °C

What changes: Pasteurised goat and sheep milk is cooled to 27–28 °C

Step 1 of 4
Pasteurise and cool the milk
Time
0.5 min
Set
Temperature
27–28 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
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

Pasteurised goat milk, or goat and sheep milk, is cooled to 27–28 °C and left at 20–22 °C to sour and curdle, with or without a little rennet. The soft curd is broken up and drained in cloth sacks until it holds 75–80% water, lightly salted and kept cold as a white, creamy spread. Made in 4 steps over 0.5 min. The longest step, pasteurise and cool the milk, takes 0.5 min (Greek Ministry of Agriculture 1994) and runs at 27–28 °C (Greek Ministry of Agriculture 2081). Salt is 1 % (Lapidakis N 2022).

Key numbers
Main step0.5 minSet[fek313048]Pasteurise and cool the milk
Temperature27–28 °CSet[sum-katiki][fek313048]Pasteurise and cool the milk
Salt1 %Reported[lapidakis2022]Salt and keep cold

What makes this one different

Katiki is an acid-curd spread drained in cloth sacks and eaten fresh, unlike Cretan Xygalo, which sours and ripens unstirred in tubs for over a month.

Milk
Pasteurised goat milk, or goat and sheep milk
Composition
At most 75% moisture and 1% salt; at least 40% fat in dry matter
Ripening
None; eaten fresh, kept cold

Related ferments

Safety

The PDO method heats the milk to about 75 °C for about 30 seconds. The Greek decree has the salted curd packed in containers or kept in cold rooms below 4 °C until it is sold.

History and sources

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

The Greek application for the PDO says the cheese has a history stretching back many years and is made with traditional technology in the Domokos area, from the milk of goat and sheep breeds reared traditionally there. A Greek ministerial decision of 1994 recognised the name, and the EU registered it as a PDO in 1996.

  1. [sum-katiki] Greek Ministry of Agriculture, application for registration of Katiki Domokou PDO under Regulation (EEC) 2081/92, summarising Ministerial Decision 313048/14.1.94 (eAmbrosia)spec
  2. [fek313048] Greek Ministry of Agriculture, Ministerial Decision 313048/1994, recognition of the protected designation of origin 'Katiki Domokou', Government Gazette B, article 3 (production technology) and article 4 (characteristics), text on WIPO Lexgov
  3. [lapidakis2022] Lapidakis N., Fragkiadakis G.A. 2022, Dairy processing, the soft spreadable cheese Xygalo Siteias, Processes 10(1):80 (section on Katiki Domokou)paper
  4. [reg-1107-96] Commission Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 of 12 June 1996 on the registration of geographical indications and designations of origin, list of registered names (Katiki Domokou PDO)spec