Metsovone is the smoked Greek cheese from Metsovo that is commonly used in dishes such as saganaki.
Metsovone is produced in the town of Metsovo in Epirus, a mountainous region of northern Greece. It is a semi-hard pasta filata cheese, meaning its curd is stretched and worked in a method related to cheeses such as provolone. The cheese is usually made from cow’s milk, or from a mixture of cow’s, sheep’s and goat’s milk.
Its defining feature is smoking, which gives the cheese a distinctive savory aroma and a deeper flavor than many other Greek table cheeses. Metsovone is typically aged for more than three months and has a firm but workable texture that allows it to be sliced, grilled or melted.
Metsovone is often confused with Graviera, Kefalotyri or Kasseri because all can appear on Greek cheese plates and several are used in saganaki. The difference is that Metsovone is especially identifiable by its smoked character and its origin in Metsovo. It has held European protected designation of origin status since 1996.