Halloumi was produced for many centuries in the rural areas of Cyprus. Modern production processes emulate the traditional methods according to European hygienic standards thus enabling Halloumi to remained unaltered and maintain its high quality and flavoursome taste.

Fresh hygienic milk is used in the production process of Halloumi. During the process of production the fresh milk reaches temperatures higher than 90°C which result in the temperatures at the core of the Halloumi curd to be 70°C which is the temperature of pasteurisation.

Halloumi today, is produced mainly in well equipped small or large dairy industries from sheep and/or goat milk or mixtures of sheep, goat and cow milk. The different types of milk used in the production of Halloumi are indicated on the label of the product in descending order of proportion. Milk is cleaned, standardised and pasteurised and is then fed into modern stainless steel cheese vats, milk is gently heated to body temperature and curdled with calf rennet. The whey and curd residue is then removed into stainless steel vats which allow for the continuous draining of the whey. The drained curd is pressed and cut into cubes of 300g weight. The whey is again heated to boiling point so as to be ready for the cooking of the cheese. This is the final stage of making Halloumi cheese. After drying the Halloumi pieces are salted and sprinkled with leaves of Menta viridis.

The Halloumi pieces are then folded into shape and left to cool. Once cooled the Halloumi pieces are placed in brine tanks for 2 days at 4-8°C. Halloumi is then removed from the brine and packed in vacuum plastic bags. These are then packed in 10kg cartons and stored at 4°C. This is the fresh Halloumi.

Mature Halloumi is made by keeping the Halloumi pieces in brine at 12-15°C for a period of 40 days. After this period of maturation Halloumi pieces are removed and vacuum packed as Mature Halloumi and stored in a cool place. Fresh Halloumi is elastic and semi hard, while Mature Halloumi is semi hard to hard. Both types of Halloumi are usually folded in a rectangular (oval) shape, are solid and easy to cut in slices and have a light mint aroma.

The high-quality production of Halloumi is achieved by:

●    The use of fresh hygienic milk (healthy animals, hygiene of animal holdings and staff,hygienic collection and transport of milk and hygienic feedstuffs).

●   Regular inspections of veterinary officers to establishments of dairy industries to confirm that the procedures of the HACCP system are applied.

High Quality Halloumi is identified by an oval shaped marking on the package. This identifies the approved production establishment and also carries the country of origin code.