GENERAL CARACTERISTICS :

The product description:

Katiki Domokou is cheese from Deme de Domokos, in the Department of Fthiotida, Central Greece.
It is made with goat and ewe milk and salt (1%).
This type of soft cheese is eaten as a starter, in a salad or on its own with bread and white wine or retsina (resinous wine).

The quality scheme description:

This product is Protected Designation of Origin since 1994 associating the name of the product with the origin « Domokou ».
The ministry of agriculture created in 1998 and controls AGROCERT, an organisation in charge of setting-up and implementing a system of identification, certification and control of products coming from mountains, islands or others protected areas.
PDOs are directly registered at European level because there are currently no national equivalents.

 LINK WITH MOUNTAIN

Traditions, biodiversity and territory connections:

Katiki cheese is made of fresh goat (70%) and ewe (30%) milk.
The breed are local.
The product is not especially traditional from the mountain area.
Due to open air husbandry and vast space of pasture, milk is healthier and the transformed product has a special taste

Production:

Breeding is done extensively.
Farms are located in the mountainous and semi-mountainous area: sheep and goat breeding is extensive in the nearby region, which is not a mountainous area. Animals occasionally feed on pastures in lower or plane areas.

Process:

Know-how is important.
The process is simple but the secret comes from filtering the cheese with special rennet canvas bags that give it a special taste.
All the processing steps are carried out in the area.
Natural conditions do not impact on the process.
The mix of goat and ewe milk is boiled, and then cooled in a tank for a day.
When cool, it is put in special locally made bags and hung for filtering for 24 to 40 hours, according to product’s texture.
These techniques are neither typical nor traditional but they give the product its special characteristics.

 DEVELOPMENT / STRATEGY

Production:

32 farms are involved in the production.
Altogether, 25 tons of Katiki Domokou are produced each year.

Process:

Production of the cheese is seasonal, but the product can be preserved in boxes of 300 grams, 1 kg and 5 kg.
2 process units are involved in the process.

Delivery chain, marketing, communication:

According to the enterprise owner, Katiki cheese has reached the national market thanks to its particular taste and its designation of origin.
5% of the production is directly sold to consumers and 95% is distributed by supermarket.
The process unit has recently been working with one of the biggest national companies « Nikas », which brought the opportunity to reach wider markets.
25 retailers are involved in the delivery chain.
The average selling price to consumer is 3,5 €uros/kg.
It is a typical and traditional cheese from mountain areas.
Sometimes more goat milk is used to get a stronger taste.
Although it can be bought and consumed throughout the year, consumption is higher at summertime, because of the fresh taste of the product.
The mountain image attached to the product is strong.