Anari ( gr, αναρή, tr, nor) is a

fresh Fresh or FRESH may refer to: People *DJ Fresh (born 1977), UK-based drum and bass artist *DJ Fresh (producer), US-based R&B producer born Marqus Brown Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Fresh'' (1994 film), a crime film * ''Fresh'' (200 ...

mild whey cheese produced in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. Although much less known than other Cypriot cheeses (e.g.

halloumi Halloumi or haloumi (, el, χαλούμι, haloúmi; tr, hellim}) is a traditional Cypriot cheese made from a mixture of goat's and sheep's milk, and sometimes also cow's milk. Its texture is described as squeaky. It has a high melting point a ...

), it gained popularity following publicity. One of the main industrial producers on the island won a silver medal award for anari in the 2005

World Cheese Awards The Guild of Fine Food (GFF) is a British family-owned industry journal publisher that covers gourmet food news. It was founded by Bob Farrand in 1992. All five directors are members of the Farrand family. Bob Farrand is the chairman, his son ...

in the UK. It has since become available in UK national supermarkets.

Production

The

whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard ...

used is usually a by-product in the production process of other harder cheeses, commonly that of

kefalotyri Kefalotyri or kefalotiri ( el, κεφαλοτύρι, tr, talar peyniri) is a hard, salty white cheese made from sheep milk or goat's milk (or both) in Greece and Cyprus. A similar cheese Kefalograviera, also made from sheep or goat milk (or bot ...

cheese. The whey is gradually heated to in a large cooking bowl. A small amount of goat or

sheep milk Sheep's milk (or ewes' milk) is the milk of domestic sheep. It is commonly used to make cultured dairy products such as cheese. Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include feta (Greece), ricotta (Italy), and Roquefort (France). Sheep breeds S ...

(5–10%) can be added at this temperature to improve the end product quality. The temperature is then increased to boiling point, whilst mixing. At small crumbly curds of anari start forming and are skimmed off the surface using a

slotted spoon A slotted spoon is a spoon implement used in food preparation. The term can be used to describe any spoon with slots, holes or other openings in the bowl of the spoon which let liquid pass through while preserving the larger solids on top. It is ...

or a

colander A colander (or cullender) is a kitchen utensil used to strain foods such as pasta or to rinse vegetables. The perforated nature of the colander allows liquid to drain through while retaining the solids inside. It is sometimes also called a past ...

. They are placed in a container that allows further drainage and then cut into cubes of roughly 10 cm sides. Excluding the drainage, the above process takes roughly one hour.

Variants

In its simple form, anari has a chalk-white appearance with a very soft consistency, similar in many ways to the likes of

mizithra cheese Mizithra or myzithra ( ) is a Greek whey cheese or mixed milk-whey cheese from sheep or goats, or both. Barron, Rosemary (1991). ''Flavors of Greece.'' William Morrow, It is sold both as a fresh cheese, similar to Italian ''ricotta'', and as a s ...

cottage cheese Cottage cheese is a curdled milk product with a mild flavor and a creamy, non-homogeneous, soupy texture. It is made from skimmed milk by draining the cheese, as opposed to pressing it to make cheese curd—retaining some of the whey and keeping ...

and

ricotta Ricotta ( in Italian) is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the ...

. Salt is often added and the product dried through gentle heating (in bygone times it was just left in the sun) and further maturation to create an extremely hard variant.

Culinary uses

*If not intended for hardening, anari must be consumed soon after its production as it is very perishable. Most locals will consume it for breakfast mixed with syrups (usually

carob The carob ( ; ''Ceratonia siliqua'') is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and landscap ...

based) or honey. *Bourekia is a traditional Cypriot dish of pastries packed with various anari-based fillings (savoury and sweet). *Cheesecakes are similar to bourekia but with a filo pastry cover instead. *Dry anari is too hard to cut and is hence invariably grated and used to garnish pasta dishes or thicken sauces. It is also used to make

Flaounes ''Flaouna'' ( gr, φλαούνα), ( tr, Pilavuna, Bitta), is a cheese-filled pastry from the island of Cyprus, which may include raisins or be garnished with sesame seeds. Flaounes are traditionally prepared for Easter by Orthodox Cypriots and du ...

(Φλαούνες) which is a traditional pastry with dry anari prepared in Orthodox Easter.

Nutritional facts

100 g of commercially produced fresh anari has a typical composition of:

Other

Anari is also known in Cyprus as ''analati anari'' ( gr, ανάλατη αναρή) meaning "unsalted anari", since the regular anari is salted. Also anari has a prominent place in Cypriot culture as it is mentioned in the traditional

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

''Spanos and the forty dragons''.

References