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| How halloumi took over the UK | How halloumi took over the UK |
| (8 days later) | |
| Until recently halloumi was a niche food in the UK. Now it's a staple of the British barbecue season. How did it become so popular? | Until recently halloumi was a niche food in the UK. Now it's a staple of the British barbecue season. How did it become so popular? |
| To some it is "squeaky cheese". | To some it is "squeaky cheese". |
| To others it is a pleasantly rubbery addition to salads, while for vegetarians it's that thing on barbecue skewers that they have to double-check isn't chicken before tucking in. | To others it is a pleasantly rubbery addition to salads, while for vegetarians it's that thing on barbecue skewers that they have to double-check isn't chicken before tucking in. |
| This salty cheese from Cyprus - made from sheep's, goat's and often cow's milk - has a high melting point, allowing it to be grilled or even fried. | This salty cheese from Cyprus - made from sheep's, goat's and often cow's milk - has a high melting point, allowing it to be grilled or even fried. |
| Halloumi has made a classic British culinary journey from ethnic speciality to commonplace item. | Halloumi has made a classic British culinary journey from ethnic speciality to commonplace item. |
| Its charms have long been recognised in its homeland of Cyprus, where the average resident gets through an average of 8kg (17lbs) of it each year. | Its charms have long been recognised in its homeland of Cyprus, where the average resident gets through an average of 8kg (17lbs) of it each year. |
| But now Britons are said to consume more halloumi than any other European country outside Cyprus, with Sweden coming in behind. | But now Britons are said to consume more halloumi than any other European country outside Cyprus, with Sweden coming in behind. |
| It's a far cry from just a decade ago, when a request for the cheese in a mainstream supermarket would probably have been met with blank looks. | It's a far cry from just a decade ago, when a request for the cheese in a mainstream supermarket would probably have been met with blank looks. |
| Now every chain stocks the stuff. Tesco is a useful barometer - it sells six varieties. | Now every chain stocks the stuff. Tesco is a useful barometer - it sells six varieties. |
| Its halloumi sales rose 35% for the year 2011-2012, with its Tesco Finest line increasing by 132% over the same period. Similarly, a spokesman for Waitrose reported that their sales were up 104%. | Its halloumi sales rose 35% for the year 2011-2012, with its Tesco Finest line increasing by 132% over the same period. Similarly, a spokesman for Waitrose reported that their sales were up 104%. |
| So why is halloumi having a moment? Daily Telegraph food columnist Rose Prince believes it's "a reflection of three things - our love for Mediterranean cuisine, our eagerness to try whatever is new and the effect of TV chefs". | So why is halloumi having a moment? Daily Telegraph food columnist Rose Prince believes it's "a reflection of three things - our love for Mediterranean cuisine, our eagerness to try whatever is new and the effect of TV chefs". |
| She adds: "It only has to be used by Jamie Oliver in a recipe and it goes stratospheric." | She adds: "It only has to be used by Jamie Oliver in a recipe and it goes stratospheric." |
| Indeed, it seems halloumi is no longer exclusively enjoyed as an ingredient in Mediterranean or Middle Eastern cooking but has been incorporated into a variety of British and European dishes. | Indeed, it seems halloumi is no longer exclusively enjoyed as an ingredient in Mediterranean or Middle Eastern cooking but has been incorporated into a variety of British and European dishes. |
| It has become a very popular choice in many restaurants such as Nando's, which serve slices of halloumi as a side order. Its sales have risen 138% since 2010. | It has become a very popular choice in many restaurants such as Nando's, which serve slices of halloumi as a side order. Its sales have risen 138% since 2010. |
| Halloumi also features on the menu of Pret a Manger in the form of a falafel and halloumi hot wrap, and a halloumi and red pepper toastie, as well as on the Leon menu, served at lunch time in a grilled halloumi wrap or halloumi burger, but also at dinner time in a grilled halloumi dinner pot. | Halloumi also features on the menu of Pret a Manger in the form of a falafel and halloumi hot wrap, and a halloumi and red pepper toastie, as well as on the Leon menu, served at lunch time in a grilled halloumi wrap or halloumi burger, but also at dinner time in a grilled halloumi dinner pot. |
| Greek cheese companies such as Yamas have also capitalised on its status as a barbecue favourite, selling prepared halloumi burger slices. | Greek cheese companies such as Yamas have also capitalised on its status as a barbecue favourite, selling prepared halloumi burger slices. |
| Key to its success has been its convenience and its versatility. | Key to its success has been its convenience and its versatility. |
| The fact that it is kept in brine allows it to be stored unopened in the fridge for up to a year whilst giving it a satisfying salty taste. | The fact that it is kept in brine allows it to be stored unopened in the fridge for up to a year whilst giving it a satisfying salty taste. |
| "You can do so many things with it," says Antonis Evangelou, owner of London's Lemonia restaurant. | "You can do so many things with it," says Antonis Evangelou, owner of London's Lemonia restaurant. |
| Evangelou recalls selling it in the delicatessen he opened when he moved to the UK in 1958, but says the dish wasn't nearly as popular as it is today. | Evangelou recalls selling it in the delicatessen he opened when he moved to the UK in 1958, but says the dish wasn't nearly as popular as it is today. |
| Evangelou's Lemonia restaurant sells 60kg (132lbs) of halloumi per week. "More people are requesting it now," he says. | Evangelou's Lemonia restaurant sells 60kg (132lbs) of halloumi per week. "More people are requesting it now," he says. |
| "It's not just growing in Britain but everywhere - in the US, in Europe. I was in Dubai recently and they served it in the breakfast lounge, it was very popular, they ate all of it. | "It's not just growing in Britain but everywhere - in the US, in Europe. I was in Dubai recently and they served it in the breakfast lounge, it was very popular, they ate all of it. |
| "It's a unique taste. You can't compare it with any other cheese. It's just unique." | "It's a unique taste. You can't compare it with any other cheese. It's just unique." |
| Harry Nicola, proprietor of London's Kolossi Grill Cypriot restaurant, says halloumi is one of his most popular starters, with "about a third" of their customers now ordering it. | Harry Nicola, proprietor of London's Kolossi Grill Cypriot restaurant, says halloumi is one of his most popular starters, with "about a third" of their customers now ordering it. |
| Anecdotal evidence for this growing taste among Britons for halloumi comes from a story told by Nicola where he oversaw the catering for an annual Church of England event at a local church. | Anecdotal evidence for this growing taste among Britons for halloumi comes from a story told by Nicola where he oversaw the catering for an annual Church of England event at a local church. |
| "We supplied them with plates of taramasalata, hummus, olives, halloumi and watermelon. By the end there was no halloumi left on the trays at all, it had all been eaten." | "We supplied them with plates of taramasalata, hummus, olives, halloumi and watermelon. By the end there was no halloumi left on the trays at all, it had all been eaten." |
| It is also, as Nicola tells, a hugely popular breakfast option in Cyprus, served with olives, bread and fresh watermelon, with a sizeable part of Cypriot culture based around the cheese. | It is also, as Nicola tells, a hugely popular breakfast option in Cyprus, served with olives, bread and fresh watermelon, with a sizeable part of Cypriot culture based around the cheese. |
| Keen to capitalise on the halloumi boom, producers in Cyprus are fighting to gain a protected designation of origin (PDO) status from the European Union. This would lay down criteria which a cheese would have to meet in order to be labelled as "halloumi" and protect the Cypriot industry from foreign competitors. | Keen to capitalise on the halloumi boom, producers in Cyprus are fighting to gain a protected designation of origin (PDO) status from the European Union. This would lay down criteria which a cheese would have to meet in order to be labelled as "halloumi" and protect the Cypriot industry from foreign competitors. |
| Efforts thus far to secure a PDO for halloumi have been unsuccessful, meaning the correct way to prepare the dish is subject to dispute. | Efforts thus far to secure a PDO for halloumi have been unsuccessful, meaning the correct way to prepare the dish is subject to dispute. |
| Traditionally it is made with milk from a sheep or goat, but with no PDO to ensure that any cheese labelled as halloumi adheres to this, many variants are made with a mixture of cow's and sheep's milk. Some UK companies such as Milky's have even started producing the cheese exclusively from British cow's milk. | Traditionally it is made with milk from a sheep or goat, but with no PDO to ensure that any cheese labelled as halloumi adheres to this, many variants are made with a mixture of cow's and sheep's milk. Some UK companies such as Milky's have even started producing the cheese exclusively from British cow's milk. |
| A further complication is northern Cyprus. Turkey, and indeed Turkish dairy farmers in Cyprus, also produce the cheese, calling it hellim. | |
| This means that if Cyprus were granted a PDO for the production of halloumi it wouldn't necessarily apply to the hellim in the north. | |
| Whatever its legal status, the dish looks certain to remain a permanent fixture on British dinner tables. | Whatever its legal status, the dish looks certain to remain a permanent fixture on British dinner tables. |
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