I love halloumi

“Whenever I see halloumi on the menu, I think of you”. I was chatting with a friend the other week who said that my love and enthusiasm for halloumi is so strong that I am now regularly associated with it (in her head, at least). So we decided I needed to write about how I love halloumi. How self-indulgent of me.

Before we carry on with that, a little about halloumi. Halloumi is a Cypriot cheese made out of sheep and goat milk, with a hard, squeaky texture. To eat it, you grill or fry it, I’ve not heard of it routinely being enjoyed raw, but I am happy to be corrected. Halloumi is so popular in the UK that demand here for it outstrips any country in Europe, except Cyprus.

Look how happy I am holding a massive block of halloumi in Costco

Anyway, back to my love of halloumi….I can’t remember when the love affair first began. I think when I moved to London in 2011 I would have far more chances to eat it, and I certainly remember being able to get it at a Turkish restaurant near the flat I lived in in East London. Delicious. Thanks to it becoming far more mainstream and popular, it now pops up everywhere- often as a meat substitute which is handy if you’re like me and try to keep your meat consumption to a minimum.

Nando’s halloumi

Now I have absolutely no scientific evidence for this BUT perhaps one of the reasons that halloumi has become more popular is because it has been made a mainstream cheese by the likes of Nando’s. See above, I always have halloumi when I go to Nando’s. And I nearly always have a halloumi burger when it’s on offer. Or halloumi tacos. Or breaded halloumi. Or grilled halloumi in a salad. Or halloumi in a baguette with avocado from my local millennial friendly brunch place.

You get the point. It really is a fantastic cheese. Admittedly not a high brow, cheeseboard cheese snob cheese but who cares – as long as it makes you happy, eat it.

Dinner in Mykonos, 2019. Massive block of halloumi.

I’ve not yet made it to Cyprus (it’s on the list!) but Greece is one of my favourite places and I’ve obviously made the most of their halloumi offerings…I certainly wasn’t expecting a massive block of halloumi when I ordered a bit of food from a beachside cafe but that’s what I got, and I loved it.

Anyway, that’s enough about halloumi. I am sure I will be writing about something less self-indulgent next time. Until then, happy cheese eating!

Epoisses- the pungent cheese

Hello! How long has it been? Five years? Never mind.

After various promises over the last few years to people that yes I will write the cheese blog again, drunken chats at new year and me quitting the masters course that was taking up more of my time than was healthy, here I am!

And what a cheese to return with. Epoisses, a French cheese that is so pungent that it is banned on several public transport systems in France, including the Paris metro.

Epoisses, as found in a Tesco Extra in Portsmouth

Epoisses has Protected Designation of Origin status, meaning that all of the production of a particular product has to take place in a particular region of a country to make it authentic (thanks EU!). My Epoisses from Tesco was indeed authentic, which is reassuring to know.

Epoisses is made in the Burgundy region of France and is an unpasteurised cow’s milk cheese. It is pungent – the longer you have it, the more it smells BUT I would say – don’t let this put you off.

Not quite opened. Preserving the smell.

I am not quite sure how to describe it as a cheese. I could say it is “Brie like” but with no disrespect to Brie – this cheese is one of a kind and shouldn’t be compared to any other. So, you’ll have to use your imagination here, and go on what I tell you – and better still, try it yourself.

Lovely, creamy cheese.

To get the best out of your Epoisses, it’s best to get it out of the fridge about an hour before you plan to eat it. As the image suggests, it’s a a very creamy cheese and when I was eating it I found it almost to be melt in the mouth in style – absolutely delicious and very soothing. Usually I think one would associate such a texture in cheese with subtle flavours and a mild taste – but this defies convention and is none of those things!

Being eaten. Would recommend with a baguette.

This Epoisses is soaked in brandy to give it a “spicy aroma”. It sure does that. It takes a few seconds for the spicy flavours to really hit your taste buds but when they do, you can definitely see why this is a much talked about cheese! It has a peppery aftertaste which lingers for a while after you’ve eaten it.

I ate it on crackers but I think it would be better with a nice, warm baguette. I also tried it with a tiny bit of quince paste, with the sweet taste being quite the contrast to the spicy taste of the cheese. However, I don’t want to offend anyone French reading this, so I won’t encourage that sort of activity.

Would I recommend Epoisses? Absolutely. Pungent, spicy, melt in the mouth – a really unique cheese. If those cheeses aren’t generally your thing, then give it a try anyway – you may be surprised.

If you’re in the UK then you should be able to get it at any big Waitrose, Tesco or Sainsbury’s. And of course, at any good cheesemonger selling French cheeses. Enjoy!