The Island of the Cheese Lovers

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When staying at Legacy Gastro Suites in the heart of Heraklion, Crete, you’re perfectly placed to discover the island’s culinary treasures. Crete isn’t just about sun and sea—it’s a cheese lover’s paradise where ancient traditions meet modern gastronomy.

Crete: A Dairy Tradition Carved into the Mountains

A quick trip to Crete will have you looking at any cheese board with fresh eyes. One thing is certain: Cretans love cheese. Cheese for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; cheese with rusks for extra crunch. From goat and sheep herders in the mountains to master cheesemakers, Crete’s legacy is steeped in dairy excellence.

Mitata: The Mountain’s Cheese Vaults

Livestock is the main source of income of the mountainous areas of the island, hence gives a high quality sheep and goat meat, and milk which is processed to cheese either in the open-air cheese factories called mitata, or in houses, and in technically advanced cheese factories. There are many variations of cheese products, most already popular outside Crete. The Cretans consumed the cheese in various meals during the day, and it had a special place in the dessert menu as well as in the traditional confectionery. The milk used is sheep and goat in various proportions but never cow’s milk.

One of the earliest historical cheese-making rituals in Crete involves the mitata. Which is a stone shepherd’s hut built in the mountains – built by placing flat stone upon stone. The mitata is a sturdy and functional structure. The lack of mortar between the bricks also helps the air to circulate and dry out the cheese. As their main task is to store – and subsequently age the cheese to ultimate richness. Amazing!

Many of the remaining mitata structures are in Rethymno, due to the ideal location of the Psiloritis mountains. Spiti tou Voskou in Krana is now a restored and functioning mitato. Celebrating the traditional cheese-making process by inviting guests on tours. The best chance to try a square or five of some of the best and most unique cheese flavours in the whole of Crete. Including the rarely found tyrozouli and kefalotyri. The shepherds will be delighted for you to try, and you will often be offered a fiery shot of raki for the perfect cheeky pairing.
Make Legacy Gastro Suites your base in Heraklion and arrange a day trip to these mountain cheese sanctuaries.

Crete’s Star Cheeses

Graviera

Practically every part of Crete is famous for its renowned cheese production. Though one of the most famous and delicious is Graviera. Crete’s PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) flagship semi-hard cheese made from sheep milk and rennet (pitia). Weight is applied to the cheese to remove the whey. Then it’s matured over 3-6 months to produce an oil-rich, buttery cheese. It practically melts in the mouth with a pleasantly sweet and salty flavour. Graviera is one of Crete’s most exported products, but to try it with fresh produce on the island is the absolute best way to experience its full potential. It goes down delightfully with a plate of Kimi figs (another fantastic Greek delicacy) and of course a large glass of red wine.

Pairing – Exquisite with a full-bodied red such as Skalani. The mature flavours and rich textures ask for something bold.

Smoked Graviera

Smoked graviera/gruyere, is smoked gradually with wild Cretan herbs for a few days after the ageing process and has a piquant nutty flavour.

Pairing – It pairs well with a sweet red such as the Dafnios Liatiko by Douloufakis. But is phenomenal with a dry and fresh Assyrtiko and a plate of fresh and zesty oysters.

What could be a better way to start, pause, or end the day than a fabulous pairing plate of cheese and wine selection? Perhaps breakfast is a little early but it’s always five o clock somewhere. Good red wine is always a winner with the cheeses, though it’s just as easy to pair with white. A good, cool white with a strong citrusy acidity will cut through cheese’s natural richness like a knife through butter. Or in this instance exactly like a sharp knife through a delicious cheese.

(Find out more about our fabulous Cretan wine varieties in this article.)

Malaka

Malaka is a soft and sweet gem of a cheese that mostly resembles a mozzarella. Made from sheep milk in the first processes of making graviera. It is a curd cheese with a soft, light texture and creamy taste. Often used as the ideal pizza topping. In Crete, it’s the main ingredient of kalitsounia pies, an absolute staple of the Cretan diet and not to be missed. These little pastries stuffed with cheese and herbs are extremely moreish. You’ll be forgiven for devouring a plate full.

Pairing – Pizza, kalitsounia pies, and a medium white such as Dafni or Vilana.

Mizithra

One of the most commonly found Cretan cheeses is mizithra. Ricotta like cheese made from sheep milk. Simple, quick and delicious. It can be combined with almost anything and is a go-to staple for a meal any time of the day. Mizithra is regularly enjoyed as a breakfast snack simply topped with honey for a sweet and healthy start to the day. As it is so fresh, mizithra is much healthier than aged cheeses, so eat as much of the delicious stuff as you like. There’s also a sour version named xinomizithra. The aroma is quite pungent but the taste is mellow. An aged Mizithra is hard and very salty, which makes it ideal to grate over a lovely pasta or salad.

Pairing – Almost anything goes, pastries, pies and salads. Or on its own with a little sweet honey.

Galomyzithra

Galomyzithra has one of the simplest cheese-making processes. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. You don’t even have to squeeze any lemons. The cheese is left to oxidize and sour naturally to become cheese. Soft, creamy and spreadable.

Pairing – It’s commonly used in bourekia, a little savoury pie, risottos and salads. Alternatively, it’s most simple and delicious spread on a fresh crusty loaf with a little herb and olive oil. Enjoy with a zesty breakfast juice.

Anthogalo

Anthogalo is a creamy, buttery concoction. Created by heating the sheep milk, adding rennet, and then straining the raised milk through a cheesecloth. It’s then left to dry out before refrigeration.

Pairing – The ideal cheese for thickening a creamy risotto or adding to pasta and salads. But the ultimate way is to spread a little anthogalo on rusks with honey – yum.

Anthotyro

Anthotyro is a fresh cheese with a pleasant wild herb flavour. The fresh version is known as anthotyro fresco. The aged variety is anthotyro xero which has a dry, crumbly texture making it an ideal grating cheese for salads and pasta.

Pairing – Anthotyro makes a savoury accompaniment to sweet fruits like figs, pears, and apples. It’s also paired wonderfully in pastries and pies.

Kefalotyri

Kefalotyri is a salty hard cheese made from sheep or goats milk with naturally formed, quirky air holes. An aged kefalotyri is aged for at least one year (to 18 months) and has a strong taste bud tingling flavour. They call it ‘tiri tripas’ and you will be very lucky to find it. Try your luck at the Mitato of Manoli Samonaki in Geraki village of Heraklion.

Pairing – Kefalotyri is fantastic when grated over pasta and stews. Or as a rich accompaniment for fruits like figs, pears and grapes. Of course, as it’s a hard cheese, red wine is usually the way to go.

Tyrozouli

Tyrozouli is a fresh sheep or goats milk cheese which is curdled in fig sap. Cultivated in the Western mountains, it’s best eaten fresh and is one of the rare gems to try on a trip to the shepherd’s huts in Rethymno. Often it is further matured in olive oil when it becomes hard.

Cretan delicacies

Certain cheeses can only be consumed on the island because they are too fragile to be exported. It’s the best chance to try a sour xinomyzithra, glykia myzithra (the fresh, or sweet variety) and xygalo Sitias; a creamy white with a granular texture and fresh salty taste.

How Legacy Gastro Suites Celebrates Crete’s Dairy Heritage

At Legacy Gastro Suites, great importance is given to Greek products, celebrated in the suite’s unique skrinio (food stations). Here you’ll find a curated selection of local cheeses like Graviera, Kefalotyri, Myzithra, and Galomyzithra from producers like the Ntagiantas family, active in Cretan cheesemaking since 1974.

The hotel’s dedication to local sourcing means guests can sample the island’s flavors without leaving their suite—an unforgettable experience for any cheese enthusiast.

Stay at Legacy Gastro Suites in Heraklion and explore Crete’s cheeses from a gourmet’s perspective.

Cooking the Cretan Way With Cheese

Cooking with cheese, pan-frying, melting, or grilling alters the flavour profile dramatically. Lord do the Cretans know how to serve up a treat. Pan-frying a slab of saganaki (meaning ‘little frying pan’) makes all the difference. Saganaki is similar to halloumi as it goes crisp and brown in the oil. Delicious at any time of the day.

A sfakiani pita (pie) is somewhere between a crepe and a pancake. Light crisp, and filled with succulent, melty myzithra, anthotyro. Or any other creamy and spreadable fresh Cretan favourite. Sfakiani pita often comes in cute little parcels nipped up at the sides to contain the delicious filling. Never before was there such a delicious pie! Unless you also have a Kalitsounia on your plate.

Tip of the day: did you know that while boiling to make anthogalo, there is some fat revealing above? This is delicious to fry eggs with or to use when making the famous Cretan risotto called ‘gamopilafo’.