[5] It has a high melting point and so can easily be fried or grilled, a property that makes it a popular meat substitute.

[15][16][17] The Egyptian Arabic word is itself a loanword from Coptic ϩⲁⲗⲱⲙ halōm (Sahidic) and ⲁⲗⲱⲙ alōm (Bohairic), and was used for cheese eaten in medieval Egypt.

[18][19][20] The name of the cheese likely goes back to the Demotic word ḥlm 'cheese' attested in manuscripts and ostraca from 2nd-century Roman Egypt.

[19] A recipe for enhancing ḥalūm ('cheese') by brining is found in the 14th-century Egyptian cookbook كنز الفوائد في تنويع الموائد (Kanz al-Fawāʾid fī Tanwīʿ al-Mawāʾid).

[8] However, the question of whether the recipe for the quintessential halloumi was born in Cyprus and then travelled to Lebanon and the rest of the Levant, or whether the basic techniques of making cheese that resists melting evolved over time in various parts of the eastern Mediterranean—or both—does not have a definitive answer.

[23][25][26][27] Traditionally, Cypriot halloumi was made from sheep and/or goat's milk, since there were few cows on the island until they were brought over by the British in the 20th century.

This makes it an excellent cheese for frying or grilling (as in saganaki) and serving either as is, or with vegetables, or as an ingredient in salads or sandwiches.

The cooked pieces are then removed from the whey and are salted and garnished with fresh or dried mint (Mentha viridis) leaves.