Ladotyri substitute

Best substitute

Kefalotyri

Use the same amount as the ladotyri you are replacing

Best for grating over pasta and vegetables

Close match

Kefalotyri and kefalograviera are the closest swaps at 1:1, since they are the same family of hard salty Greek sheep cheese. Pecorino Romano is the easiest supermarket option, though start at about three quarters the amount because it is saltier. Aged Manchego or ricotta salata work when you want it gentler. Rubbing your substitute with good olive oil overnight is a fair approximation of the oil-cured character.

Other ladotyri substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Kefalograviera
Close match
Use the same amount
Firm Greek cheese between kefalotyri and graviera in style, with a nutty edge.
What changes
Best for
saganaki and frying, grating, baked pasta, melting into greens
Slightly milder, nuttier and more Gruyere-like, and it browns beautifully, which makes it the better pick if the ladotyri was headed for a hot pan. Because it is less salty than ladotyri, taste the dish before you add any more salt or it will come out underseasoned.
3Pecorino Romano
Close match
¾ to 1:1
Italian hard sheep's-milk cheese, widely available.
What changes
Best for
grating over pasta, baked dishes, salads, vegetables
The most obtainable stand-in and genuinely close in style, but it is saltier and more aggressively sheepy than ladotyri, with less of the mellow fruitiness the oil gives. Start with three quarters of the quantity when grating it over something already seasoned, then adjust upward.
4Aged Manchego
Different taste
Use the same amount
Spanish hard sheep's-milk cheese, matured at least six months.
What changes
Best for
cheese boards, salads, shaved over vegetables, with olives and bread
Sheep's milk again, so the underlying flavor is right, but Manchego is sweeter, more buttery and considerably less salty and peppery. Excellent on a plate and a little soft-spoken when grated into a cooked dish, where it can disappear entirely. Buy aged, not semi-curado.
5Ricotta salata or a firm dry feta
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
Pressed, salted, semi-firm sheep cheeses that crumble rather than grate.
What changes
Best for
salads, scattered over baked vegetables, watermelon and tomato dishes
Right salt, wrong hardness. Both crumble into soft chunks instead of grating into shreds, and both are much milder than ladotyri, so they season a dish less. Fine where the cheese is being scattered on top, poor where it needs to crust in a pan or hold up under heat.
6Parmesan
Different taste
Use the same amount
Aged Italian cow's-milk hard cheese.
What changes
Best for
baked pasta, grating, soups, gratins
The least Greek-tasting option here: cow's milk brings glutamate savouriness and crystalline crunch instead of sheep-milk tang and pepper. What it brings is reliability, since it grates cleanly, keeps for weeks and behaves predictably in the oven. In a baked pasta the difference is minor.

What is Ladotyri?

Ladotyri is a hard, salty sheep's-milk cheese from the Greek island of Lesvos that is matured submerged in olive oil, which keeps it dense and slightly waxy and gives it a fruity, peppery finish; grated over a dish or fried in slices, it is supplying salt and savoury depth at the same time, so it seasons as much as it flavours.

Cooking tips

Ladotyri means oil cheese, and if you buy a piece stored in oil, keep the oil. It has spent months with sheep cheese and often oregano or peppercorns, and it is excellent poured over bread, potatoes, or the same cheese once grated.
To approximate the oil-cured character with a substitute, cut kefalotyri or pecorino into cubes, coat them in good olive oil with a little dried oregano and cracked pepper, and leave them a day in the refrigerator. It will not be ladotyri, but the oil rounds the salt and softens the edges convincingly.
It is a real frying cheese. Cut half-inch slices, dust them lightly in flour, and sear them briefly; ladotyri holds its shape and forms a crust rather than flowing. Choose a substitute that behaves the same way, so kefalograviera, kefalotyri or halloumi, and not a soft melter.
A grated hard sheep cheese can carry the entire seasoning of a dish. Add it, stir, taste, and only then reach for the salt, because correcting an oversalted pasta after the cheese has gone in is close to impossible.
Ladotyri Mytilinis is the protected designation from Lesvos. A wedge labelled simply ladotyri may be a similar oil-matured cheese from elsewhere in Greece, which is perfectly good for cooking and usually cheaper.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave it out?

If it is a garnish, yes, but add a little salt and a spoonful of olive oil to replace what it was contributing, since it was doing both jobs at once. If it is the fried cheese course, or the grated topping that browns on a bake, you need a hard cheese in its place or the dish loses its point.

How salty is ladotyri?

Salty enough to season a dish on its own. It is salted or brined before it goes into oil, and months of maturing concentrate it further. Always taste a finished dish that includes it before adding any more salt, especially pasta, potatoes or braised greens.

What is the difference between ladotyri and kefalotyri?

Both are hard, salty Greek cheeses made largely from sheep's milk, but ladotyri is matured submerged in olive oil, which keeps it denser and marginally moister and gives it a fruity, peppery character. Kefalotyri is air-aged, so it is drier, crumblier at the edges and sharper.

Can I use ladotyri in place of Parmesan?

Yes, and it grates well enough to do it easily. Use a slightly lighter hand because it is saltier, and expect a tangier, distinctly sheepy flavor without Parmesan's nutty crystalline crunch. It works particularly well on pasta with tomato, olive oil or greens.

How should I store it?

Wrapped tightly in wax or cheese paper, or submerged in olive oil in a jar in the refrigerator if that is how you bought it, in which case it keeps for months. Bring it to room temperature for twenty minutes before serving, because cold flattens both the fruitiness and the pepper.

Related substitutes

More cheese substitutes

Ladotyri substitute

Other ladotyri substitutes

2Kefalograviera

3Pecorino Romano

4Aged Manchego

5Ricotta salata or a firm dry feta

6Parmesan