Cypriot cheese halitzia Tillirias added to EU’s PGI register

09:46 - 08 December 2023

Current Affairs

The European Commission has added halitzia Tillirias, the Cypriot soft to semi-hard white cheese, to the register of Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) of the European Union.

In a press release, the EC said halitzia Tillirias is a soft to semi-hard white cheese from Cyprus, made from heat-treated fresh goat's milk, rennet and salt.

It is matured in salted whey for at least forty days and has a soft to semi-hard and quite crumbly texture with characteristic holes of different sizes and shapes. The cheese has a fresh taste, with a lemony and slightly salty aroma.

The Commission’s press release cites “the characteristic shape of the cheese, its pure white colour and the irregular holes inside, which give them a rough appearance, like stones polished smooth by the action of seawater”, giving the chunks of halitzia “the look of large white pebbles found by the sea” as the origin of the name.

Expertise in the cheese’s production is often passed down from one generation to the next, and to this day it is still produced in small household businesses or in the homes of the inhabitants of Tilliria.

In the same press release, the Commission also announced the addition of Turkish Ezine peyniri to the register of Protected Designations of Origin (PDO).

The list of all protected geographical indications can be found in the eAmbrosia database.

Cypriot cheese halitzia Tillirias added to EU’s PGI register

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