Feta

Ingredients

Milk

• 8 litreswhole sheep’s milk, at least 70 per cent of the total
• 2 litresgoat’s milk, no more than 30 per cent
• ¼ tspthermophilic starter culture, or 200 ml live sheep’s yoghurt
• 2.5 mlliquid rennet, diluted in 50 ml cool unchlorinated water
• 10 mlcalcium chloride solution, only if the milk is pasteurised

Salting

• 60 gcoarse sea salt, for dry-salting the blocks
• 2 litrescooled whey or water
• 140 gfine salt, for a 7 per cent brine

Equipment

• Square perforated moulds (kalathia) and draining mats
• A wooden barrel or a food-grade tin

Directions

1. Warm the mixed milk gently to 32–34°C (90–95°F), stir in the starter and hold 40–60 minutes for the acidity to develop.
2. Add the diluted rennet, stir 20 strokes, then leave completely still for 45–60 minutes until the curd gives a clean break on a knife and clear whey runs into the cut.
3. Cut the curd into 2 cm cubes, roughly walnut-sized, and let it rest 10 minutes. Feta curd is never cooked or scalded; that is why the cheese stays soft and crumbly.
4. Ladle the curd gently into the moulds, filling them in layers over 15 minutes so the grains settle without being crushed.
5. Drain at 16–18°C (60–65°F) for 18–24 hours, turning each mould four or five times as the curd knits and the whey runs off. It should end up firm enough to hold a cut edge.
6. Turn out and cut into blocks about 10 cm square; the name feta simply means slice. Dry-salt every surface with coarse salt, using around 3 per cent of the cheese weight.
7. Rest the salted blocks on mats at 14–16°C (55–60°F) for 2–3 days, re-salting once, until the surfaces glisten and the blocks feel firm.
8. Pack them tightly into a wooden barrel or tin and cover completely with the 7 per cent brine. No block may sit above the surface.
9. Ripen 15 days at 16–18°C (60–65°F), then move to 2–4 C for at least a further two months; the cheese cannot legally be sold as feta before 60 days.
10. Serve at room temperature in thick slabs, dressed with olive oil and oregano, on a salad, or baked in paper with chilli and honey as feta psiti.

Technique

• Feta has been a Protected Designation of Origin since 2002 and can only be made from sheep’s milk, with up to 30 per cent goat’s milk, in Macedonia, Thrace, Thessaly, Central Greece, the Peloponnese and Lesvos. Cow’s milk white cheese in brine is not feta.
• The block must stay fully submerged. Any exposed corner grows mould and goes slimy within days.
• Barrel-matured feta, vareliseia, picks up a firmer texture and a faint woodiness from the beech; tin-matured feta is creamier and milder. Both are traditional.
• If the finished cheese is too salty for you, soak slices in milk or cold water for 20 minutes before serving; do not weaken the storage brine itself.

Substitutions

• For a vegetarian cheese use microbial rennet at the same dose; expect a slightly softer curd and a touch more bitterness after long maturing.
• All sheep’s milk gives a whiter, richer, more mineral cheese; adding the goat’s milk sharpens it and is what most Greek dairies do.

Variations

• Vareliseia feta, aged in beech barrels, saltier and firmer.
• Feta from Lesvos and Mytilini, prized for its creaminess.
• Related brined cheeses outside the PDO: telemes, made with cow’s milk, and the sharper Cretan and Cypriot styles.

History

Protected as a Greek PDO in 2002 after a long European legal fight; it is made from sheep’s milk with up to thirty percent goat’s milk.

Frequently asked questions

What is Feta?

Feta is a cheese & dairy from Greece: brined sheep-and-goat cheese, crumbled over salads or baked. Protected as a Greek PDO in 2002 after a long European legal fight; it is made from sheep’s milk with up to thirty percent goat’s milk.

How long does Feta take to make?

Feta takes 1 hr of preparation and 2 months maturing of cooking. The recipe makes about 1.2 kg cheese. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Feta?

Yes, within limits. For a vegetarian cheese use microbial rennet at the same dose; expect a slightly softer curd and a touch more bitterness after long maturing. All sheep’s milk gives a whiter, richer, more mineral cheese; adding the goat’s milk sharpens it and is what most Greek dairies do.

What is the most important thing to get right in Feta?

Cut the curd into 2 cm cubes, roughly walnut-sized, and let it rest 10 minutes. Feta curd is never cooked or scalded; that is why the cheese stays soft and crumbly.