🧀 Ladotyri Mytilinis

Ladotyri Mytilinis is a hard, slightly salty Greek cheese from the island of Lesbos, cylindrical with a relief pattern. It is made from sheep's milk or a mix with no more than 30% goat's milk. The name means “cheese in oil”, which is how it was kept, and has been protected in the EU as a PDO since 1996. ¹³

Why oil. Lesbos is famous for its olive oil, so the matured cheese was traditionally stored in it, and the local word ladi gave it its name. Today, after maturing and drying, it is kept in oil or coated in paraffin. ³⁴

Where the milk comes from. The main breed is the small, hardy Mytilene sheep. It yields only 80–120 kg of rich, aromatic milk a year. Sheep's and goat's milk contain no carotene, so the curd is naturally white. The animals graze mostly in mountains and foothills, moving to mountain pastures in summer. ³

How it is made. Rennet sets the milk at 32–34 °C in 30 minutes, and the curd is cut and heated to 45 °C. Most whey is drained, the mass is pressed at the bottom of the vat and divided into 5–7 kg pieces, then into final-sized cheeses. These are packed tightly by hand into moulds woven from reeds or other island plants or food-grade material, salted and aged for at least three months, at about 85% humidity and up to 16 °C. ³⁴

What it is like. Height and diameter are usually 10 cm each, weight up to 1.5 kg. Moisture is at most 38%, fat in dry matter at least 40%. Inside it is white to yellowish white, with small irregular eyes. ³

Why it matters to you. Look for the name with the PDO mark and the control mark ΛΑ-ΜΥ, plus a serial number and production date. The milk may be raw or pasteurised, so check the label. Colourings, preservatives and milk powder are banned. Remove any paraffin coating before eating. ³⁴