Whatever else you’re planning to grill on Memorial Day, make room for cheese. Yes, you can grill it, and any non-meat eaters at your table will thank you. Halloumi, the sheep and goat cheese from Cyprus that doesn’t want to melt, has little personality until you warm it in a frying pan or on the grill. Then it blossoms. Serve it with toasted flatbread (or on lemon leaves, if you have them) with chopped fresh thyme and a drizzle of honey. A squeeze of lemon brightens it.

Hot off the grill, halloumi is fun to eat: soft and squishy, salty, milky and moist, similar to cheese curds. Most halloumi contains dried mint and, with heat, that aroma blooms. But by any measure, halloumi has a simple, mild taste; you’ll remember the crispy bits and juicy interior more than the flavor.

Halloumi’s reluctance to melt is the result of the peculiar way it’s made. For almost every other cheese, step one is culturing milk—adding friendly bacteria that convert the milk sugar into lactic acid. The milk for halloumi isn’t cultured; it’s coagulated with rennet alone. So halloumi has almost no acidity, which is one reason for its low meltability. Heating the pressed curd in hot whey—the next step—also limits halloumi’s willingness to melt. The chemistry gets more complicated here, but in simplified terms, the milk proteins become rigid so the cheese lacks stretch.

After draining the whey, the fresh slabs of halloumi are sprinkled with salt and dried mint, then folded in half and placed in brine. That’s why halloumi slices can look as if they have split.

Check the ingredient label when buying halloumi if you’re concerned about its vegetarian status. Some traditional producers use animal rennet but the brands I’ve seen are made with non-animal rennet. Whole Foods carries halloumi, as do markets that cater to a Middle Eastern clientele.

For another way to grill cheese on Memorial Day, try Grilled Teleme with Chard Leaves. Sadly, the Teleme I recommended, Franklin’s Teleme, is no longer being made. Look for Peluso Teleme or use one of the suggested alternatives.

Grilled Halloumi with Thyme and Honey

You hardly need a recipe for this simple preparation. Just be sure not to slice the halloumi too thin. Be patient and let the cheese form a nicely browned exterior on the grill. Don’t worry; it won’t melt.

• ½ pound halloumi, in ½-inch-thick slices, at room temperature

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Chopped fresh thyme or dried oregano

• Warm honey

• Lemon wedges

Prepare a charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill to medium. Preheat the grate. Brush the halloumi slices on both sides with olive oil. Grill until browned on both sides, about 2 minutes per side depending on the heat of your grill. Transfer to a platter and sprinkle the slices with thyme, drizzle with honey and surround with lemon wedges. Serve immediately.

Serves 4