Taste Atlas, an online food guide, again includes the graviera cheese variety produced on the Cyclades island of Naxos as one of the 10 best cheeses in the world for 2023.
The hard pale-yellow cheese secured seventh place out of 23,863 registered cheeses, while in the 2022 Taste Atlas rankings, it was third.
There are several varieties of graviera produced in other locations around Greece, beyond Naxos, with eponymous producers in the western coastal town of Amphilochia, the large island of Crete and the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos.
The Naxos variety of graviera is usually served as an appetizer, but can also be fried or grated over pasta.
Taste Atlas‘ review notes that ”the milk used for its [graviera] production comes from breeds that are traditionally raised on the island, which feed on a diet of local plants and herbs that give their milk a unique flavor.”
Graviera Naxos has held a protected designation of origin (PDP) status since 1966, and has earned various national and international awards. The cheese is exported to more than 10 countries, including the United States, Germany, Canada, France, and the UK.
