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Cheese from Greece, the Cyclades

Kopanisti PDOΚοπανιστή

Cow, sheep or goat milk from the Cyclades is set with rennet, and the curd rests in the vat for a day before it is drained in sacks and salted. The salted mass sits in wide jars in a cool, damp place until a thick growth of moulds and yeasts covers it, and it is then kneaded back in, two to four times over 30 to 40 days. The result is a soft, salty, peppery spread.

Fully documentedCheese31 days – 41 daysPDO (EU, 1996; specification amended 2013)Family: Blue-veined cheese family (Roquefort as template)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe specification fixes ratios, not a batch size. Salt is 4–5 % of the drained curd, butter up to 15 % and old Kopanisti up to 10 %.
Full-fat cow, sheep or goat milk, or a mix, from the CycladesMilk from milkings at least 10 days after birth; no milk powder, concentrates or preservatives[kop-2012]
RennetEnough to finish curdling in about 2 hours at 28–30 °C[kop-1996]
Salt4–5 % of the drained curd's weight[kop-1996]
Fresh butter from Cyclades cream (optional)Up to 15 % of the drained curdMust be named on the label as 'with added butter'[kop-2012]
Old, over-ripe Kopanisti ('Mana Kopanisti') (optional)Up to 10 % of the curd massMixed into the fresh acid curd to start and steer ripening[kop-2012]
Starterno added culture in the traditional method; the milk's own microbes and up to 10 % 'Mana Kopanisti' backslopped from an old batch

Total time across the recorded steps: 31 days – 41 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countLactic acid bacteriaMouldsYeasts28–30 °C

What changes: Rennet sets the warm milk into a soft curd

Step 1 of 6
Set the milk with rennet
Time
2 h
Set
Temperature
28–30 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Moulds
Yeasts
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

Cow, sheep or goat milk from the Cyclades is set with rennet, and the curd rests in the vat for a day before it is drained in sacks and salted. The salted mass sits in wide jars in a cool, damp place until a thick growth of moulds and yeasts covers it, and it is then kneaded back in, two to four times over 30 to 40 days. The result is a soft, salty, peppery spread. Made in 6 steps over 31 days – 41 days. The longest step, knead the growth back in, and repeat, takes 30–40 days (Greek Ministry of Agriculture 1994) and runs at 18 °C (Kazou M 2022). Salt is 4–5 % (Greek Ministry of Agriculture 1994). Lactic acid bacteria from the milk and the cheese-making plant, carried over in 'Mana Kopanisti'; Ligilactobacillus acidipiscis and Loigolactobacillus rennini were the only lactic species isolated from one Tinos Kopanisti and one Mykonos Mana Kopanisti and Surface moulds and yeasts that the kneading spreads through the cheese; the specification credits their enzymes with the fast proteolysis and lipolysis do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step30–40 daysSet[kop-1996][kop-2012]Knead the growth back in, and repeat
Temperature18 °CReported[kazou2022]Knead the growth back in, and repeat
Salt4–5 %Set[kop-1996]Salt the drained curd

What makes this one different

Kopanisti has no rind and no blue veins. Its moulds and yeasts grow on the surface of salted curd in a wide-mouthed container and are worked back in several times, so the whole mass ripens in 30–40 days into a peppery spread.

Milk
Full-fat cow, sheep or goat milk, or a mix, from the Cyclades
Ripening
30–40 days in wide jars, kneaded 2–4 times
Composition
Moisture at most 56 %, fat in dry matter at least 43 %
Rind
None; a spread with no skin

Related ferments

Variants

  • Kopanisti with butterFresh Cyclades butter, up to 15 % of the curd, is allowed
  • TyrovoliaThe same drained curd eaten fresh after 2–3 days, before the extra salt and mould ripening (Mykonos)

Safety

Kopanisti is made from raw or slightly thermised milk (Kazou 2022), and the PDO summary sets a ripening of 30–40 days. For raw-milk Kopanisti, the US FDA says ageing raw-milk cheese for 60 days may not remove E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella. The CDC says people at higher risk, including pregnant women, people 65 or older and people with weak immunity, should avoid raw-milk cheese unless it is heated to 165 °F (74 °C) or until steaming hot.

History and sources

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

The 1994 PDO application says Kopanisti has been produced "since at least the last century" and is known for its 'woody and peppery' taste. The name was registered as a PDO in 1996. A 2013 amendment allowed synthetic draining sacks and up to 15 % butter, a practice long used in home cheese-making on Tinos.

  1. [kop-1996] Greek Ministry of Agriculture 1994, application for registration of the PDO 'Kopanisti' (summary of Ministerial Decision 313046/14.1.94), EEC No GR/0450/940121, registered by Regulation (EC) 1107/96spec
  2. [kop-2012] European Commission 2012, Publication of an amendment application, 'Κοπανιστή' (Kopanisti), EC No EL-PDO-0117-0450-09.03.2011, Official Journal C 186, 26.6.2012, pp. 11–16 (single document)spec
  3. [kazou2022] Kazou M., Gavriil A., Kalagkatsi O., Paschos T., Tsakalidou E. 2022, The Impact of Different Inoculation Schemes on the Microbiota, Physicochemical and Sensory Characteristics of Greek Kopanisti Cheese throughout Production and Ripening, Microorganisms 11(1):66paper
  4. [rozos2018] Rozos G., Voidarou C., Stavropoulou E., Skoufos I., Tzora A., Alexopoulos A., Bezirtzoglou E. 2018, Biodiversity and Microbial Resistance of Lactobacilli Isolated From the Traditional Greek Cheese Kopanisti, Frontiers in Microbiology 9:517 (abstract)paper
  5. [fda-rawcheese2016] US Food and Drug Administration 2016, FY 2014–2016 Microbiological Sampling Assignment Summary Report, Raw Milk Cheese Aged 60 Daysgov
  6. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov