For the love of cheese

Halloumi: a Catalyst for Cypriot Peace or the Dawn of a Cheese War?

“Never commit yourself to a cheese without having first examined it.”

- T.S. Eliot 1935

As the sun sets, rose and violet hues cast a welcoming dusky shadow over the Koutoupou terrace situated just beside the Pafos municipal gardens. After a long day of exploring we were keen to sit for a while and enjoy a Cypriot style mezze. The menu had a variety of dishes but the first thing that caught my eye was the baked halloumi in honey. In the last couple of years this local cheese has began to appear in supermarkets across Europe, but I was eager to try the real deal on Cypriot soil. We made our selection from the mezze menu and as the halloumi was brought out the waiter said “our house special”. It was special, even spectacular. The caramelised block of halloumi was bathing in a mixture of honey and oil. As I took the first bite I began to taste the sweetness of the honey followed by the robust salty flavour of the halloumi and the infamous satisfying squeaking noise it makes as it is chewed. This iconic taste of Cyprus sparked my curiosity. What is it about this cheese that makes it special? How is it symbolic of Cyprus? Could this shared cultural product create unity or tension in the context of a separated Cyprus?

Halloumi (Hellim in Turkish) as a subject of debate may seem trivial. In fact, Cyprus’ favourite cheese is indicative of many other issues of cultural identity that Cypriots, both Greek and Turkish, may encounter. Furthermore, the product is Cyprus’ second largest export and thus the recent boom in the popularity of Halloumi in other areas of Europe (and beyond) plays a vital role in reinvigorating the economy after the Cypriot financial crisis of 2013.

In 2015 the European Commission (EC) attempted to mark Halloumi a product of Protect Designation of Origin (PDO). PDO trademarks traditional food products from a region along with the specific processes of manufacturing; other examples would be Roquefort cheese or Champagne. This label is intended to protect traditional modes of production and product quality. Halloumi, for example, is traditionally made with goat and sheep milk and preserved using mint leaves. Although, as Halloumi becomes popular to a wider audience producers are beginning to encorporate cow’s milk into the recipe to keep up with demand, which in turn jeopardises the quality of the product.

The official aim of the European Commission in pursuing the PDO of Halloumi/Hellim is to protect the cheese for the whole of Cyprus. The EC believes that coming to an agreement on the mutually beloved cheese (and of course all the logistics, economics and politics surrounding it) could pave the way for similar projects towards the eventual reunification of Cyprus. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: "This step [towards the PDO] demonstrates the commitment of both communities of Cyprus to work together on projects unifying the whole island” (European Commission).The protection of traditional ways of producing this delicious cheese may seem to be in the interest of everyone? Whilst the European Commission’s intentions may be good, the positive narrative of unification neglects the complexities of relations between the Greek Cypriots in the South, who are a part of the EU, and the Turkish Cypriots in the North, who are not recognised by the EU.

The catch is that along with the EU declared protection of the product come it’s EU regulations. This is problematic when only half of the island is answerable to the EU, yet the PDO of halloumi covers the whole island.

In order to keep in line with the PDO mark, Turkish Cypriot farms would have to be inspected by EU personnel to insure that hygiene and process standards are being met. However, Turkish Cyprus does not produce hellim (halloumi) for Europe, they produce predominantly for Turkey and the Middle East. Therefore proposed regulations could have a major impact on their ability to commercially produce the cheese – unless Cyprus reunites. What is more, because the EU does not recognise the North of Cyprus as a state, Turkish Cypriot concerns cannot be properly voiced. They also do not qualify to receive funding needed to raise production standards to EU expectations, and so the situation produces unfair disadvantages for Turkish Cypriot hellim producers. In response to this lack of agency President Çıralı of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Industry has approached the UK to “register these concerns with the Commission via your government, so they are acted upon, and the PDO works fairly and transparently for all producers.”

Halloumi or Hellim, however wonderful and delicious it may be, cannot escape it’s entanglement with Cypriot history and culture. Depending on where you look and what you read, halloumi is associated with the power to either reunify Cyprus or exacerbate existing tensions. Finally, the concerns from the Turkish Cypriots reflect domination of northern Cyprus and the inability for the EU to understand the implications of such a scheme on a divided country. 

For more information about the EU stance on the Halloumi PDO go to: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-5448_en.htm

For more information about the Halloumi problem: https://qz.com/249057/cyprus-ongoing-conflict-has-a-new-victim-halloumi-cheese/

By Daisy Corbin O'Grady