🧀 Graviera Naxou

Graviera Naxou is a Greek hard cheese with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), registered in the EU in 1996. Unlike most gravieras, it is made mainly from cow milk, sometimes with a small addition of sheep or goat milk.

Where it is made. Naxos is the largest of the Cyclades. Its green, well-watered valleys and pastures make it possible to keep cattle, which is rare on Greek islands. The same island also gives the sheep-and-goat Arseniko Naxou.

How it is made. The milk is coagulated with rennet, the curd is cut small and heated, pressed into large round wheels and salted. The cheese ripens for at least 3 months; on the island it is made mostly by local dairies.

Taste and texture. The rind is hard; the paste is pale yellow and firm with small holes. The flavour is sweetish, buttery and nutty, milder than sheep-milk gravieras.

How to eat it. Serve Graviera Naxou on a cheese board with honey, fruit and nuts, fry it as saganaki, or add it to bakes and pasta. White and light red wines suit it (see Wine and cheese). It belongs to the Hard cheeses group.

Graviera Naxou is a type of graviera and belongs to the sections Greek cheeses and Protected cheese names; its main raw material is cow milk.

Why it matters to you. If you expect a sheep-milk taste from graviera, check the name: Graviera Naxou is milder because it is made from cow milk. The name is protected in the EU and guarantees origin from Naxos.