The Other Greeks: A Cheese Board Tour Beyond Feta

Feta is the Greek cheese everyone knows: salty, crumbly, indispensable in a tomato salad and a thousand pies. But walk into a Greek deli or a village market and you will find a much wider cast. There are hard cheeses for grating, semisoft ones for frying, fresh whey cheeses for spooning over honey, and aged ones with enough bite to stand up to a winter table.

For British cheese lovers, the good news is that these cheeses are easier to find than they used to be. Independent delis, online Greek grocers and some larger supermarkets now stock more than feta. The even better news is that each one has a clear personality — and a simple meze pairing that shows it off.

Graviera: nutty, firm and made for sharing

Graviera is one of Greece’s best-known hard cheeses, produced in several regions, including Crete and Naxos. It is made from sheep’s milk or a sheep-and-goat blend, and the flavour is somewhere between a young Gruyère and a mild Comté: nutty, slightly sweet, with a firm, close texture. Younger graviera is sliceable; older versions are sharper and better for grating.

In the UK, look for Greek delis, cheese shops with a Mediterranean counter, or online specialists. If you cannot find it, a young Gruyère or a mild Comté will do for a board, though it will not have the same sheep’s-milk richness. For cooking, a firm cheddar can stand in at a push, but use less.

Meze pairing: cut it into thick fingers and serve with honey, walnuts and a few slices of ripe pear. It also fries well — brush with olive oil and grill until golden, then squeeze over lemon.

Kasseri: the melter

Kasseri is a pale, semihard sheep’s-milk cheese with a springy texture and a mild, slightly tangy flavour. It is the cheese behind many Greek cheese pies and the one that turns gloriously stringy when fried or grilled. In Greece, it is often dusted with flour and pan-fried, or used in kasseri saganaki.

British sourcing is patchy but improving: Greek delis and online grocers are the most reliable. If you cannot find kasseri, a mild provolone or a low-moisture mozzarella will melt in a similar way, though neither has quite the same tang. For a cheese pie, a mix of ricotta and mild cheddar is a practical fallback.

Meze pairing: fry slices in olive oil until crisp at the edges, then serve with lemon wedges and a sprinkle of oregano. Or grate it into a tyropita filling with feta and a little mint.

Manouri: soft, creamy and quietly rich

Manouri is a fresh-ish whey cheese made from sheep’s or goat’s milk, often with cream added. It is less salty than feta, with a soft, almost cheesecake-like texture and a clean, milky flavour. It slices neatly but also crumbles softly, which makes it useful on a board and in salads.

Look for it in Greek delis, larger cheese counters and online. If you cannot find manouri, a good ricotta (drained) or a mild, creamy goat’s cheese can approximate its role, but the texture will be different. Do not substitute feta — the point of manouri is its gentleness.

Meze pairing: serve it with roasted grapes, honey and toasted almonds, or crumble it over a plate of tomatoes and cucumbers with olive oil and mint. It is also excellent with a little orange zest and cinnamon.

Mizithra: the milky one

Mizithra is a whey cheese, traditionally made from the leftover milk after making other cheeses. It can be fresh and soft, or salted and dried, depending on the region. Fresh mizithra is mild, milky and slightly sweet; dried mizithra is harder, saltier and used for grating.

In Britain, fresh mizithra is a deli find; dried versions are more common in Greek shops. If you need a substitute, ricotta is the closest fresh stand-in, while a mild pecorino or a young kefalotyri can replace the dried sort for grating. Anthotyro, another Greek whey cheese, is a good alternative if you see it.

Meze pairing: fresh mizithra with honey and walnuts is a classic. Dried mizithra can be grated over pasta, sprinkled on a tomato salad, or used in pies. It is also good with a little olive oil and oregano on warm bread.

Two more names worth knowing

Kefalotyri is a hard, salty sheep’s-milk cheese that is excellent for grating and frying; it is often used in pastitsio and saganaki. Anthotyro is a fresh, mild whey cheese, similar to mizithra, and works well with fruit or in pies. Neither is as easy to find as feta, but both are worth picking up if you spot them.

Building a Greek cheese board for a British kitchen

You do not need a dozen cheeses. Three is plenty: one hard (graviera or kefalotyri), one semihard (kasseri), and one soft (manouri or fresh mizithra). Add bread or rusks, olives, cucumber, tomatoes, a few slices of cured meat if you like, and something sweet — honey, fig jam, fresh figs or grapes. Greek cheeses are often served simply, with olive oil and oregano, rather than with chutney.

For drinks, a dry white wine such as Assyrtiko or a light red works well. Ouzo is traditional with meze, but it is strong; a small glass alongside a cheese board is enough. For a non-alcoholic option, iced tea with lemon and mint is refreshing.

Sourcing tips for UK shoppers

Start with independent Greek delis and online Greek grocers, especially those who stock chilled cheeses. Cheese counters in larger markets may carry graviera or kasseri. Ask for a taste before buying if you can. Check labels for PDO status where relevant, and buy only what you will eat within a week or two of opening — these are cheeses, not trophies.

If you are substituting, think about the job the cheese is doing. For melting, choose something mild and elastic. For grating, choose something firm and salty. For a soft board cheese, choose something creamy and fresh. The name matters less than the texture and flavour.

Feta can stay

None of this is an argument against feta. It remains one of the great cheeses: salty, tangy, and endlessly useful. But a Greek cheese board with a slice of graviera, a fried piece of kasseri and a spoonful of manouri is a more interesting place to start. It is also a reminder that Greek food is not a single flavour. It is a whole table of them.