Greek cheese board with Graviera wedge, Mizithra, Kefalograviera and feta in brine with thyme, walnuts and honey

Greek Cheese Beyond Feta: Graviera, Mizithra, and the Cheeses Greece Keeps to Itself

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Greek Cheese Beyond Feta: Graviera, Mizithra, and the Cheeses Greece Keeps to Itself

Greece produces over 70 varieties of cheese. You've heard of one of them.

Feta dominates the conversation so completely that the rest of Greek cheesemaking — centuries of tradition, dozens of distinct regional styles, cheeses that Greeks eat every day — barely registers outside the country. That's a genuine loss. Because once you taste Graviera from Crete, or aged Mizithra grated over pasta, or a slice of Manouri drizzled with thyme honey, you understand that feta is just the beginning.

This guide introduces the Greek cheeses that rarely leave Greece — and explains why they deserve a place on your table.

Graviera: Greece's Greatest Hard Cheese

If feta is Greece's most famous cheese, Graviera is its most beloved. Greeks eat it constantly — on cheese boards, fried as saganaki, melted into pies, grated over pasta, eaten with honey and walnuts as a dessert.

Graviera is a firm, golden hard cheese with a nutty, slightly sweet flavor and a texture that melts beautifully. It's often compared to Gruyere — and the comparison is fair — but Graviera has its own character, shaped by the sheep and goat milk of specific Greek regions.

Cretan Graviera (PDO)

The most prestigious Graviera comes from Crete, where it carries PDO certification. Made from sheep's milk (with up to 20% goat's milk), Cretan Graviera is aged for a minimum of 5 months, developing a complex, slightly caramelized flavor with a firm but yielding texture.

It's exceptional on a cheese board with Greek thyme honey and walnuts. It melts into a golden crust when fried as saganaki. It grates beautifully over pasta.

Naxos Graviera

From the Cycladic island of Naxos, this Graviera is made from cow's milk — unusual for Greek cheese — giving it a milder, creamier flavor. Excellent for melting and cooking.

How to Use Graviera

  • Cheese board: Pair with honey, figs, walnuts, and Kalamata olives
  • Saganaki: Slice 1cm thick, dust with flour, fry in olive oil until golden. Squeeze lemon. Eat immediately.
  • Grated over pasta: A revelation on simple pasta with olive oil and black pepper
  • In pies: Adds richness to spanakopita and other savory pastries
  • Melted on bread: Toast with Graviera and a drizzle of honey for the best Greek grilled cheese

Our Roussas Graviera is imported directly from Greece — sheep and goat milk, traditionally aged, the real thing.

Mizithra: The Ancient Whey Cheese

Mizithra is one of the oldest cheeses in Greece, mentioned in ancient texts and still made the same way: from the whey left over after producing feta or Graviera, enriched with fresh sheep's or goat's milk.

It comes in two very different forms:

Fresh Mizithra

Soft, white, and mild — similar to ricotta but with a slightly tangier, more complex flavor from the sheep's milk. Excellent spread on bread with honey, used in sweet pastries, or dolloped over roasted vegetables. Greeks eat it for breakfast with honey and walnuts.

Aged Mizithra (Xynomizithra)

Hard, dry, and intensely salty. Grated over pasta, it adds a sharp, savory depth that's unlike any other cheese. In Greece, it's the traditional topping for pastitsio (Greek lasagna) and many baked pasta dishes. Think of it as Greece's answer to Pecorino Romano.

Kefalograviera: The Melting Cheese

A hybrid of Kefalotyri and Graviera, Kefalograviera is a firm, salty hard cheese with excellent melting properties. It's the preferred cheese for saganaki in many parts of Greece — it forms a golden, crispy crust while staying creamy inside.

Kefalograviera is also excellent grated over soups and stews, or eaten in thin slices with olives and bread as a simple meze.

Manouri: The Luxury Whey Cheese

If Mizithra is the everyday whey cheese, Manouri is the luxury version. Made from the whey of feta production enriched with cream, Manouri is soft, rich, and almost buttery. It carries PDO certification and is produced in Macedonia and Thessaly.

Manouri is extraordinary with honey — slice it, drizzle with Greek mountain honey, add a few walnuts, and you have one of the great simple desserts of Greek cuisine. It also bakes beautifully in cheesecakes and tarts.

Anthotyros: The Fresh Mountain Cheese

Another whey cheese, Anthotyros ("flower cheese") is soft, mild, and slightly grainy. It's produced across Greece and eaten fresh, often with honey or fruit. Think of it as Greece's answer to cottage cheese — but better.

How to Build a Greek Cheese Board

A proper Greek cheese board tells a story of milk, region, and tradition. Here's how to build one:

Or let us do the curation for you: our Mediterranean Board Builder Gift Set includes Greek cheese, fig salami, honey, and olives — everything you need for a stunning spread, ready to open and serve.

Why Greek Cheese Deserves More Attention

The reason Greek cheeses beyond feta are unknown outside Greece is simple: most of them never leave. Production is small, demand at home is high, and the export infrastructure for artisan Greek cheese is limited compared to French or Italian producers.

That's changing. As the Mediterranean diet gains recognition and food culture becomes more sophisticated, Greek cheeses are finding their audience. Graviera in particular is gaining ground among cheese professionals who recognize its quality and versatility.

At Alpha Omega Imports, we source directly from Greek producers to bring these cheeses to the US market. Browse our full Greek cheese collection — feta, Graviera, and more, imported directly from Greece.

Published: April 2, 2026 | Category: Feta & Greek Cheese

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