What is Manouri cheese?

The Greeks are known for their traditional sheep and goat milk cheeses, including Anthyro, Feta, Haloumi, Kasseri, Kefalotyri, Telemes, Touloumotyri and Manouri cheese. Manouri cheese is described as a fresh semi-soft cheese made of whey drained from a feta produced combined with cream and/or milk. The result is creamy, milder and less salty than feta. Sometimes it is also characterized as a slightly citrus or lemon taste.

Manouri cheese also differs from feta in another of its aspects. While Feta is produced in Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy and the United States and Greece, Manouri cheese seems to be produced only in Greece. Manouri is produced in Thessalia and Central and Western Macedonia, both in middle and northern Greece.

In recipes with Manouri cheese, he uses interchangeably with a number of other cheeses, including cream cheese, feta, ricotta salad, Mizithra, Mozzarelly and Farmer's cheese. Creamy White cheese has no bark or cover and is often sold inLog -shaped rolls.

Typical applications for Manouri cheese include:

• Spanikopita, spinach cheese bowl made of Phyllo dough layers and usually including a mixture of cheeses such as feta, anthotyro and manouri;
• Kalitsonia, sweet pastry from Crete;
• Pitory cheeses, including pins served on Easter - custard cake made of a mixture of cheese, which may include feta, manouri, kefalotyri or parmesan;
• in a bandage called brinza;
• served with slices of fresh fruit, honey and roasted walnuts;
• as a decoration of salad especially for beans, eggplant or tomatoes;
• as desert cheese; and
• like the top of the pasta.

There are a limited number of companies that serve as importers of Manouri cheese in the United States. These include Mt. Vikos in Marshfield, Massachusetts; Import Castella in Hauppauge, New York; and Parthenon FooDS in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In January 2005, there was a Canadian food inspection agency that remembered the traditional Greek cheese of Privato Manouri, because there was concern that this could be contaminated by Listeria Monocytogenes. At the time of withdrawal, there were no reports about the disease and the product was prepared with pasteurized milk.