This is one of the main table and grating cheeses in Greece and also one of the newest, having first been produced in Dodoni in Epirus in 1967. As the name might suggest to t hose familiar with Greek, it is a kind of hybrid between kefalotyri and graviera. Kefalograviera is firm in texture, pocked with many small air holes, and in flavor can be anywhere from mild to mildly sharp. It has a pale ecru color.Although it is produced in many parts of the country, three areas are recognized as protected designations of origin: western Macedonia, Epirus, and Aitoloakarnania, in western mainland Greece. Kefalograviera can be made with a mixture of cow’s milk and sheep’s milk, at about a 60:40 ratio, or exclusively with sheep’s milk or with a combination of sheep’s and goat’s milk, the latter not exceeding more than 20 percent of the total. The milk used for kefalograviera is always pasteurized and then enriched with calcium chloride, which helps coagulate it. Once the rennet is added it coagulates relatively quickly, within about a half hour. The curds are cut, then stirred for about 20 minutes, then again for another 20 minutes or so, but at a higher temperature until they reach the desired firm consistency. They are then left to settle and are collected and placed in wheel-shaped molds, where they are pressed and turned almost hourly for 24 hours. The wheels are then placed in brine for two days, removed and dry salted and turned for a period of about two months. Kefalograviera ages at least three months by law before it is ready for consumption. It is consumed mainly as a grating cheese.
