To halloumi and back
Having spent most of a morning eating various permutations of halloumi cheese at the International Cheese Awards at Nantwich, I now conclude that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. That being said, there were a few sublime examples of the genre. It is interesting that this PDO has not surfaced – or if it has, has not succeeded thus far. With 27 entries in the category, it seems that a lot of cheese makers are attempting to make halloumi, and frankly, there were a couple of examples that were far away from what we expect this grilled cheese to be. There were also several types of milk used, and I am not sure if the other milks added anything to the halloumi.
And halloumi is popular right now. It has gone from being a cheese that few people had heard of, to a cheese that can offer 27 samples in a cheese show, in the space of a few years.
We soldiered on and could award the medals in good faith, after retesting the promising ones. The lactic smell, the hint of mint, the pleasing bite of the winner of the category made us want to eat more, despite having ploughed through so many samples. Cheese making, when it is on the money, is a product that cannot be beaten for moreishness. A great cheese is a song of the senses.
