What would we be without our tradition?
Through this article we will "satiate tradition". We will fill up on halloumi, anari and trachana, 3 traditional foods that are worth studying!
Our favorite halloumi is a white semi-hard cheese that can be found fresh or in its mature form. Fresh halloumi is made from curd produced by coagulating milk with rennet. Traditionally goat's milk is used but usually a mixture of goat's and cow's milk. It is cooked and shaped into its characteristic rectangular or semicircular shape. Ripe halloumi is left to mature in salted whey for at least 40 days.
A byproduct of halloumi is anari. A white soft cheese produced after removing the curd for halloumi and reheating the curd.
The genuine Cypriot trachanas is made from wheat (konar) that is fermented together with soured sheep's or goat's milk. It has always been made in the summer months so that it can be dried in the sun.
How I enjoy the tradition:
Anari with carob honey or honey, cinnamon and crushed nuts
Halloumi in pitta with grilled vegetables and balsamic vinegar
And now let's take a look at the nutritional value of these products:
(Values from State General Chemist. A sample range was used)
Halloumi (100gr) | Fresh Anari (100gr) | Trachanas (100gr) | |
Energy (kcal) | 300-375 | 136-335 | 369-386 |
Carbs (gr) | Traces-2.3 | Traces-5.3 | 59.8-67.6 |
Protein (gr) | 19.7-25.2 | 9.0-16.3 | 12.4-16.4 |
Fat (gr) | 22.0-30.0 | 7.0-39.5 | 5.4-10.1 |
Calcium (mg) | 727-822 | 97-372 | 185-362 |
Sodium (mg) | 908-1779 | 37-467 | 394-1110 |
Some observations:
We can find anari with fat as low as 7g/100g but halloumi with a minimum fat of 22g/100g.
Trachanas and especially halloumi have high levels of sodium (salt)
Halloumi has the highest levels of calcium
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