Halloumi is made by curdling milk with rennet, pressing the curds into blocks, then cooking those blocks in hot whey at temperatures above 90°C for at least 30 minutes. That second cooking step is the defining technique, and it’s what gives halloumi its famous ability to hold its shape on a grill or in a frying pan. No other cheese in the world uses this process.
Milk and Curdling
Traditional halloumi starts with a blend of sheep’s and goat’s milk, though cow’s milk is now common in commercial production. The milk is heated to roughly 34°C, or pasteurized above 65°C and then cooled back down to that temperature. Rennet is added, and within a short time the milk coagulates into a soft, jelly-like mass of curds suspended in liquid whey.
The curd is then cut into smaller pieces and gently reheated with stirring to about 40°C. This step helps the curds release more whey and begin firming up. Once ready, the curds are transferred into cheesecloths or molds and pressed until enough whey drains out and the loose pieces knit together into solid blocks.
The Whey Cooking Step
This is where halloumi diverges from every other cheese. Instead of moving straight to salting or aging, the pressed blocks go back into the leftover whey and are cooked at 90 to 95°C for 30 to 60 minutes. Before the halloumi goes in, the whey is first heated to around 80°C to skim off a soft byproduct cheese called anari (similar to ricotta), which is made up of the remaining proteins and fat. The halloumi then cooks in this clarified whey.
You know the halloumi is done when the blocks float to the surface. At that point, the heat has fundamentally changed the protein structure inside the cheese. The proteins bond tightly to one another, creating a dense, elastic network that won’t collapse or flow when reheated later. This is why you can throw halloumi on a 200°C grill and get golden, crispy edges while the interior stays intact.
Why Halloumi Doesn’t Melt
The whey cooking is the main reason halloumi keeps its shape, but pH also plays a critical role. For halloumi to resist melting, the final pH of the cheese needs to be either above 6.4 or below 5.0. Most halloumi lands in that higher range. At a pH above 6.4, the calcium phosphate within the cheese stays intact and acts like molecular scaffolding, keeping the protein network rigid and strong. If the pH drifts into the middle range (between roughly 5.3 and 6.4), that calcium dissolves, the proteins repel each other, and the cheese softens and flows when heated.
The protein structure is also what creates halloumi’s signature squeak against your teeth. The tightly bonded, elastic protein network resists breaking down as you chew, causing friction that produces that distinctive sound.
Salting, Mint, and Folding
Once removed from the hot whey, the halloumi blocks are salted on the surface while still warm. Dried or fresh mint leaves are sprinkled on at this stage, sometimes pre-mixed with the salt. Historically, the mint served a practical purpose: it helped preserve the cheese in the days before refrigeration. Today it’s kept purely for flavor, adding a subtle herbal note that pairs well with the cheese’s salty, tangy character.
The warm, salted blocks are then folded in half (the classic halloumi shape is a folded semicircle) and left to cool. This folding traps some of the mint inside, distributing its flavor through the cheese.
Brining and Storage
After cooling, the folded pieces are submerged in brine whey, typically at a salt concentration around 12%. In the traditional process, the cheese is dry-salted first and then stored in this brine at a cool temperature until it’s eaten, sometimes for weeks or months. Industrial producers skip the dry salting and instead let the cooked blocks cool directly in brine whey at 4°C for about 18 hours. The cheese is then sprinkled with sterilized mint, vacuum-sealed in polyethylene bags, and kept refrigerated until sold.
The salting method affects texture. Dry-salted halloumi tends to be softer, while brine-salted cheese (especially at higher concentrations and longer soaking times) develops noticeably more firmness and a snappier bite. Standard commercial blocks are typically cut to about 10 cm by 10 cm by 3 cm before brining.
Traditional vs. Industrial Production
The core steps are the same whether halloumi is made in a village kitchen or a factory, but a few details differ. Traditional producers often skip mechanical pressing, relying on the weight of the curds and hand-pressing in cloth to shape the cheese. Industrial operations press the curds at controlled pressure, producing uniform blocks. The whey cooking step remains non-negotiable in both settings: without it, you simply don’t have halloumi.
Industrial production also standardizes the brining. Rather than the variable dry-salting and long whey storage of the traditional method, factories control salt uptake precisely through timed brine immersion at refrigerated temperatures. This gives a more consistent product with a longer, more predictable shelf life.
Nutritional Profile
Halloumi is a calorie-dense, high-protein cheese. A 28-gram serving (about one ounce) contains roughly 110 calories, 7 grams of protein, 9 grams of fat, and zero carbohydrates. It provides about 25% of the daily value for calcium and 15% for sodium. The fat is predominantly saturated, so it’s worth keeping portion size in mind if you’re watching your saturated fat intake. The high sodium comes from both the salting step and the brine storage, which is why halloumi tastes noticeably salty compared to many other fresh cheeses.