How To Make Halloumi or Helim at Home 

I've been making cheese since January, as with lockdown, I've found myself with time to try different cheeses (I used to make very basic goat cheeses when we had goats a few years ago). I now have a local supplier of Organic Raw Milk, we pick up 10 litres every Friday and try another 'Gavin'. Today was Haloumi - looks great. Thank you for a great recipe!!

I've got all the cheese recipe books and I still come back to this recipe for Halloumi. It's by far the best .... if I show up at our family reunion without Halloumi there'll be trouble-- thanks Gav for the excellent instructions. You truly are the best.

Made my first Halloumi this morning to deliver tomorrow as Christmas presents along with homemade wine and mead! Thanks Gavin x

I just finished following your recipe but with half the quantity as I didn't have a big enough pot. Came out delicious. My first time ever trying to make cheese and couldn't be happier with the results. Back In Lebanon we don't always fry Halloumi, we eat it as is in a large pita bread sandwich with cucumbers, mint leaves, tomatoes and maybe some olives.

I love that subtle middle eastern style music in background, reminds me of my Greek dining experiences. Relaxing.

Hi Gav, I have been making halloumi for a couple of months now, I tried a couple of recipes and I must say your method with specific timing works great. In South Africa you can only buy pasteurized and homogenised milk, but my curd was always slimy and really soft. I decided to start experimenting and added Calcium chloride to normalise the milk without any significant change, then I added normal powdered calcium from the chemist to boost calcium in the milk, IT WORKS 1000% BETTER..Making Halloumi like a boss ! It seems like milk processing destroys some of the essential nutrients in the milk needed to make cheese. So anyone else has the same problem with your curds being limp and soft try some calcium.

This is great! Grilled halloumi with pepper oil is a fantasic appetizer I often enjoy. Your videos have inspired a new hobby for me good sir.

Not only a great video explaining the process properly. But it also made me super relaxed watching it

Best commentary for a cooking video. So impressed! Cant wait to try

I'm a cypriot citizen and We all Cypriot appreciate you all using our famous Halloumi for your recipies an by the way Halloumi is a Cypriot cheese not greek but Greeks use it

I purchases some Halloumi locally for the first time yesterday and grilled some - amazing stuff! So I'm glad that you've posted an instructional video...I'll be trying it very soon. Thanks Gavin!

Awesome! I'm trying this today for my very first cheesemaking attempt.

Wonderful! Even a mistake can be amazing. On my third time making this I decided to take a half the batch of finished curd and toss them with powdered mint. Guess what? could not be compressed together at all. BUT pan fried the curds and got an amazing sort of browned mint cheese crumble to sprinkle over salads and pastas,

Being in the US, it is so difficult to find it, unlike Nicosia where I grew up. Thank you for sharing. Now I know I can prepare some home-made halloumi for my family.

Awesome video. Halloumi has become my newest food obsession and watching this has certainly encouraged me to try to make it myself.

yep - worked a treat. it worked first time. ive only ever made maltese cheese. learnt that last month now just tried your halloumi recipe . and it worked!!!!

Thanks for another great instructional video. As a visual learner, I've gotten more out of watching your videos than all the reading I've done on cheese making. Cheers.

I don't know if it was the diluting of the rennet in distilled water or the double pot set-up, but following your recipe to the dot, resulted in the best cheese I've ever made (Although to be fair, I did not do many). So THANK YOU! One question though: When using the double pot setup, I noticed that the temperature actually rose from 36C° to 41C° during the 45 min. coagulation process with the heat turned off. So when you say: "Bring the heat to 40C° over a 20 minute period", I way already at 40C° without turning on the heat. So, no idea why your pot cooled down and mine heated up. Outside temp was around 20C°. In the end it wasn't an issue, as I just stirred for about 20 minutes with no heat, which resulted in similar curds as yours. Great video! thanks!

Yes, you need to turn off the heat whilst the milk is setting.

Hi..It was such a pleasure to watch you making Haloumi.. very informative and understandable instructions..Thanks will have a go..Kyri & Angie, From Cyprus!!!

I got hooked on haloumi whenni was stationed in cyprus back in the 80’s! It is awesome fried in bacon fat for breakie!

I made today in Guatemala. Thanks for the tutorial. Uts great

Making this tonight for our Christmas celebration on New Year day. Thank so much for sharing.

Fantastic Halloumi cheese recipes_ What a selection!!!!

Hi Gavin. Greetings from South Africa. I your recipe, I have made it twice now, and it's foolproof! My cheese doesn't like to fold after boiling, it kind of breaks in the middle, but its still delicious!

Hola Gavin, son muy interesantes y didácticos tus tutoriales, me encanta verlos y aprender, sé muy poco inglés, quisiera que tuvieran subtítulos en español, sería maravilloso, te admiro mucho, saludos

He is so clean. Love it. Some people aren't aware of milky drips on the stove, the 'used' board not on the back of the sink, shake off utensils. Notice this?

going to give this a go very soon watched the video all the way through just to get an idea of exactly what it entails. very clear instructions

Thank you for the great video Gavin. Im a Cypriot and a lover of Hellim cheese:) You may already know but for those who do not, I would like to add that you can make curd cheese with the remaining substance.

Perfect and delicious. Every. Single. Time.

I love how you match up the video-demo with ethnic music that reflects the origins of the cheese!

Hello, thanks for sharing. I have tried twice according to the video. First trial was successfull, but why in the second trial when i moved halloumi from cheese cloth was sticky and peeling? How about the ideal pressure? Thanks, Greetings from Indonesia

A great recipe. Really easy and fantastic results!!

Well, I did make it today and it worked really well, thank you. My only puzzle was that the cheese blocks surfaced after 15 mins on the hot whey, floating like seabirds, so I fished them out. Salted, minted, left to drain. Delicious, thank you.

We made this last night, What a great cheese! Thanks for all your videos! I'm going to get your book for sure.

Как будто сказку рассказывает, заслушаешься:)

Thanks, that was really easy and delicious too.

Great video. This was my second experiment making cheese. I did a mozeralla first time, and then this halloumi second time. I followed your video to the letter, just with half the ingredients, and the cheese came out perfectly, although it did take nearly 60 minutes before the curd separated and set at the beginning, do you know why this might be, could it be the temperature mat have been low so the rennet took longer to do it's job? Just out of interest, is there a reason you don't use any citric acid?

what a great video. Loved it. Thanks for sharing

I had not seen the folding method before. I'll have to try it.

Thanks JD. Appreciate the feedback!

Hi Gavin. I'm a total noob to cheesemaking. I am trying Halloumi...1st time ever I'm making cheese today. I've had the kit for over a month and bought raw milk. I've watched this video of yours about 4 times😂😂 Even though you're a fantastic tutor, I'm scared I forget something. The company where I purchased my kit from, uses 2liters of milk with a tip of a teaspoon Flora Danica culture. I heard you say that it's not necessary foe the culture. I have added it though😮 I hope it doesn't make a mess of my cheese...

There's another Cypriot cheese called anari. It's soooo delicious, my grandma used to give it to me with honey when i was younger, it was litterally heaven. I would love to see you make it!

Halloumi is the best cheese I've ever tasted!

made it! turned out perfectly thanks Gavin!

YOU SHOULD DO ASMR! Your voice is so relaxing aahh

thanks gav, all you good work is much apreciated

I made Halloumi today. I was a bit insecure about how much salt and mint and ended up brushing a bit off. I saved one piece for dinner. I then did half whey and half filtered water with additional salt for a brine and put all the other pieces in. My Halloumi rose to the surface in about thirty minutes floating and ready. I was surprised maybe its my climate in Pennsylvania. Anyway, I used olive oil and a bit of butter fried up tomatoes mushrooms onions cut up the cheese added three eggs. My husband and I shared the meal. I found that the Halloumi offered the same texture as tofu absorbing the flavors around it as it cooked and very nice mouth feel but I never had it before so do not know if the flavor will develop as it sits in the brine in my refrig. What is it suppose to taste like. I enjoyed it so did my hubby.

Hello 🌸 thanks for all amazing recipes. I have a question, if the cheese doesn't float what is the problem & what to do in that case?

this looks great thank you I love helim ...

This is amazing! Great share!

Being that these are beginner videos, I have yet to see or hear whether the heat remains on, under the pot during the process of mixing in the additives, & cutting of the curd. Are these recipes in your book? I plan to order that.

iv watchd a lot of your vids and love them all the only thng i cant seem to get is exactly what stages do you turn the heat off is it when you add the renet ?? then turn back on after its set ty for the vids you are awsome

Thanks a bunch Gavin. Super useful.

Another great video Gavin, thank you.

Thanks for the awesome video. Can you elaborate on the calcium chloride? Can you dilute it in the same water as the rennet? If not how much water and at what point. There is no non homogenized whole milk here. Thank you!

Well explained and great results thank you!

Gavin many thanks for the video I have now made Halloumi successfully a number of times now using your method. However do you know how i can get the cheese more like the firm squeaky cheese you get from the shop as mine always seems a bit to delicate?

Looks incredible

Very helpful video, thank you

Hi Gavin I tried your recipe for couple times and it turned out very good. But lately the milk is not coagulated aldo im using the same rennet what do you think the problem is can you help me with that thank you

ok...now am hungry .. again.. thanks for a great cool video.

Wonderful video! I have a question regarding the salt added in the final stage. The amount of salt appears to be very abundant, but it also appears there is no salt added during the previous steps. Does this turn out to be a particularly salty cheese or does it smooth out before being eaten? Thanks, again, a great tutorial.

Got all the way through this and the pressed curds looked perfect but when I put it in the almost boiling whey it floated immediately and went really spongey. Any tips?

Excellent

Hi Gavin. Do we use the same amount of rennet and calcium chloride no matter how much milk we're using?

Make Halloumi like a Cypriot!

"Don't throw it a whey"

With my respect to you sir have 3 questions to ask 1- what effect does vinegar in brine do 2- why some time when bending the Haloum it will split 3- what brine to use to conserve mozzarella cheese Thanks 🙏🏻

love this cheese, so hard to find it where i live

Gavin. Buenos dias. Gracias. Mientras transcurre los 45 min de cuajado la temperatura debe permanecer constante en 32 grados centigrados o se apaga la hornilla solamente.

Hi Gavin! I have enjoyed your video. I took notes and maybe you can tell me where I went wrong. My squares of cheese curd floated after 10 minutes, but I kept them in the whey anyhow...when I went to fold them in half, they kind of pulled apart on the fold. Is the whey supposed to be kept t 200 to 205 degrees the whole time the curd squares are cooking? I just wonder why they floated to the top so soon. Any insight would be much appreciated.

Nigella (black seeds) make a great flavour addition instead of mint leaves. This is how we used to buy the turkish version in Australia.

Thanks for you, your a genius.

Hi, thank you for sharing your knowledge. I have a few questions: 1. If I need to use non-chlorinated water in a recipe, do I have to use distilled water? Or can I opt for natural spring water or RO water? 2. Can I use natural rock salt or sea salt as a cheese salt? Its difficult to find kosher/non-iodised salt from where I am. I apologize for my simple questions. You must be getting it a lot. Thank you again

Fantastic tutorial thankyou

Gavin, can we mix the cow milk with whole goat milk or goat milk powder just to add extra flavour to the final cheese? Thank you for the amazing videos you make to us all ❤

Dear sirWith all the respect I owe you sir I was in uk and bought milk pasteurized and non homogenized and made the halomi it was great taste excellent I follow each stepI live in Senegal here I have pasteurized milk in bottle the ph is 6.5 please need your advice to bring it to 5.6 ph and have to make 10 liters you mention to add calcium chloride to be non homogenized what is the quantity to addSir you are my only teacher here hope to hear from you soon

I love halloumi!

Hi gavin thanks for the best video I loved and test wonderful God bless you

hi Gavin, your videos and channel overall is fantastic!!! I saw almost 18 minutes and wasn't sure I wanted to watch your video but I enjoyed every minute of it! now I have a question please, so this is the second time I am here to make halloumi, the first time I succeeded yay thx to you! so now my milk didn't "turn" (I don't know if in English is the right word) so I waited more, like the first time, but nothing, so then I reheated a bit and added few more rhenett ... maybe you are screaming now what the hec did she do ??? after all night rest I have now a bit of curd and the rest of the milk is like creamy ! I will try to conitue the recipe though as you explain this time but do you have any tips in case I fail again next time please ? I hope I could explain my question clearly ? thx for all your videos anyway I will try all one by one :)

Here on remote hill in Kodaikanal, India ...I am watching your video....and learning... I have desi cows ... A2 milk... Will keep you posted of my success you kind man.

Hey Gavin, I made halloumi cheese following your instructions. Everything went absolutely perfect and end results were so good. Only thing it took me 8-10 hours to reach the required curd. Any idea why? And how can I minimise waiting time. Cheers, Adeb

Enjoyed watching your video. Thank you Gavin. I had question which I submitted through your website

Thank you Gavin... everything went okay with me. Taste was great but halloumi wasnt really rubbery. It was breaking when i fold it

It's great work thank you

I made this cheese as per your video, but due to volume constraints I only used 4 litres of milk, and could not get non-homogenised so added the calcuim chloride. The resulting 500g of cheese was eaten by the family within 2 days so I guess it was OK :-). However I thought the texture was a bit dry and hard. I used 1 tablet of rennet as the packet said that amount for 4 litres, and a couple of other videos used that or more! I prefer your videos as you are in Australia as am I and I hoped that types of milk and quantities would be more relevant. Can you suggest why it came out this way, also what conversion from liquid rennet to Mad Millie tablets would you recommend. Thanks for your great videos.

Hi sir Small question please Why sometimes the cheese at the end period the haloumi doesn't float what could be wrong . My respect to you sir

If we put milk and rennet, and after that we add salt and stopped the process, what type of cheese we will got ? And sometimes, changing temperature with the same process of halloumi, give us another type of cheese ? Do you know another type of Lebanese cheese, named Akawi cheese, it's like halloumi but it melts. Thank you.

Awesome video, thank you very much. Why do you fold them in half when finished seasoning?

Thanks For this Video. I am Indonesian and cheese lover. I sale much of Halloumi made in Indonesia..but the problems is dont have much cheese maker here 😁

was the heat on during the 40 minutes at the beginning

I have made halumi for the first time and it turned fantastic, my question is what's the recipe for the brine please,

Gavin very nice you doing well Dan

Hi sir With my respect to you while heating the whey to 97 degrees I drop the cheese in Sometimes they float within few seconds What could be the problem Tks sir

Hello sir I like your videos and I'm new in cheese making and I follow the hallom cheese but when I strain the curd it didn't go through the cheese clothe I used very fin one that got me to put a heavy weight on it and after 2h it got so flat that I could roll it as a jelly roll I don't now why but it tast very good and I used half a rennet pill for A gallon of full fat milk thanks

Good jop man easy & simple thanks 🙏 a lot

Artist

Amazing...thanks very much.

Hi Gavin - nice video - I like the cheese recipes that don't need culture - Thanks