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Cheese from Greece — the island of Crete

Xinomyzithra Kritis PDOΞυνομυζήθρα Κρήτης

Sheep or goat whey is strained, heated to 92 °C over half an hour with a little whole milk added on the way, and the curd that forms is drained in moulds for 3–5 hours. It is salted, put in cloth sacks and pressed for a week so that it sours, then ripened at least 2 months in containers in cool rooms.

Fully documentedCheese2.2 monthsPDO (EU, 1996)Family: Whey cheese (heat-precipitated whey protein) family

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceProportions from the summary of Greek Ministerial Decision 313051/14-1-94; no batch size is given.
Whey of sheep or goat milk, or a mixture, from local breeds[xyno-el1994]
Whole sheep or goat milk (prosgala)up to 15 % by weightUsually added when the whey reaches 68–70 °C[xyno-el1994][xyno-en1994]
Salt1.5–2 % by weight[xyno-el1994][xyno-en1994]

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.2 months

Start
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92 °C

What changes: The strained whey is stirred and heated close to boiling

Step 1 of 6
Strain and heat the whey
Time
30 min
Set
Temperature
92 °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

Sheep or goat whey is strained, heated to 92 °C over half an hour with a little whole milk added on the way, and the curd that forms is drained in moulds for 3–5 hours. It is salted, put in cloth sacks and pressed for a week so that it sours, then ripened at least 2 months in containers in cool rooms. Made in 6 steps over 2.2 months. The longest step, ripen in containers, takes at least 2 months (Application for registration) and runs at up to 10 °C (Application for registration). Salt is 1.5–2 % (Application for registration).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsSet[xyno-el1994][xyno-en1994]Ripen in containers
Temperatureup to 10 °CSet[xyno-el1994][xyno-en1994]Ripen in containers
Salt1.5–2 %Set[xyno-el1994][xyno-en1994]Salt and fill cloth sacks

What makes this one different

Fresh myzithra and anthotyros are set by heat and eaten with little or no fermentation. Here the drained whey curd is salted, pressed in cloth sacks for a week so that it sours, and ripened for at least 2 months.

Milk
Sheep or goat whey, with up to 15 % whole sheep or goat milk
Ripening
At least 2 months after a week of pressing

Related ferments

Safety

The specification salts the curd at 1.5–2 % of its weight, presses it for 1 week to raise its acidity, and ripens it for at least 2 months.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes, which grew in inoculated anthotyros, a related fresh Greek whey cheese, at 4 °C (not studied in xinomyzithra, which is salted and soured).

History and sources

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

Registered in 1996 (Commission Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 of 12 June 1996) on the application of the association of cheese makers of the Rethymno prefecture, under Greek Ministerial Decision 313051/14-1-94. The application says the cheese has been made in Crete for many centuries.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [xyno-el1994] Application for registration, PDO 'Ξυνομυζήθρα Κρήτης' (Xynomyzithra Kritis), summary of Ministerial Decision 313051/14-1-94, Greek original (EU register file GR/0448/94, summary sheet)spec
  2. [xyno-en1994] Application for registration, PDO 'Xynomyzithra Kritis', English summary sheet (EU register file GR/0448/94); its temperatures differ from the Greek originalspec
  3. [reg1107-1996] Commission Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 of 12 June 1996 on the registration of geographical indications and designations of origin under the procedure laid down in Article 17 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, Official Journal L 148, 21.6.1996, pp. 1-10 (lists Xynomyzithra Kritis, PDO, among Greek cheeses)spec
  4. [foods2025-whey] Czarniecka-Skubina E. et al. 2025, Whey, a valuable technological resource for the production of new functional products with added health-promoting properties, Foods 14:4258, doi:10.3390/foods14244258 (Table 3 lists Xinomyzithra Kritis among PDO whey cheeses)paper
  5. [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):334 (abstract; used only for the related anthotyros in the microbe list)paper