Feta Cheese Making Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What milk makes the best feta cheese? ›

Traditionally, feta cheese is made with 100% sheep's milk or with up to 30% of goat's milk mixed in.

When feta is exposed to the air, the cheese starts to dry out and the flavor becomes sharply sour. But just like when making and storing pickles and fermented foods such as sauerkraut, the brine—a combination of water and salt—both flavors and preserves the cheese.

Traditionally, the rennet for Feta cheese-making was produced by the cheese makers themselves from the abomasa of lambs and kids slaughtered before weaning, but at present traditional rennets and commercial coagulants are being used together in the ratio 1: 3 (traditional: commercial).

Traditional Greek feta is made with at least 70% sheep's milk, with goat's milk often making up the other 30%. The flavour is salty and tangy, the texture dry and crumbly. When CHOICE taste tested feta cheese a few years back, the 'Greek-style' feta rated highest.

French Feta is made with Lacaune sheep's milk (if you remember, that's the sheep breed used for Roquefort production). It has a softer and creamier texture that Greek Feta and a milder, less tangy flavor (though it's sharper than Israeli Feta).

Athenos Traditional Fat Free feta cheese crumbles are made with skim milk for guilt-free meals. Ingredients: Fat free feta cheese (cultured pasteurized skim milk, salt, enzymes, natural flavor, artificial color, vitamin A palmitate), powdered cellulose (to prevent caking), natamycin (a natural mold inhibitor).

When cooking with feta, it is imperative to understand the differences between Greek, Bulgarian and French. Henderson defines the three as such: “A definitive similarity of these cheeses lies in the ripening process by which blocks of cheese are held in a saltwater brine.

It's made from cows milk and not goats milk. They don't even advertise this on the packaging.

With high salt, feta is preserved perfectly. It really will not go bad for even an year if kept in the right salt concentration and if the cheese is fully immersed in the brine. Here in the US, though, feta cheese many times has very little or no brine. Without brine, feta will go bad in a few weeks, even in a fridge.

According to Sommer, feta packed in liquid salt brine can last for as long as 6 months if stored correctly: You can keep the cheese in its original container, but be sure that the block is completely submerged in brine and that care has been taken to avoid contamination.

Are calves killed for rennet? ›

Most stomach-derived rennet is taken from the fourth stomach of young, unweaned calves. These animals are not killed expressly for their rennet; rather they are killed for meat production (in this case, veal) and the rennet is a byproduct.

What is vegetable rennet? Vegetable rennet is made from plant enzymes that have coagulating properties. Vegetable rennet may be produced with plants such as thistle, artichokes, and nettles, but other plants like ground ivy, dried caper leaves, and fig juice have also been known to serve as coagulants.

What is a good substitute for animal rennet in vegetarian/vegan cheese? Usually vinegar and lemon - also a few plants - They even have kosher and halal rennet available. Phytic acid, derived from unfermented soybeans, or fermentation-produced chymosin (FPC) may also be used.

Feta is just a name for cheese made from sheep milk and so there is no “processing” required in its making. Even for commercial sale, feta shouldn't require any processing other than, perhaps, simple pasteurization same as any other cheese you can purchase retail.

Feta is a white crumbly cheese traditionally made of sheep's or goat's milk. It's cured and stored in brine (a solution of salt dissolved in water), but once opened, it can dry out or spoil quickly. To make it last longer, here's how to make your own brine.

Feta doesn't melt due to its low pH (~4.7). While the high amounts of acid means calcium is dissolved from the structure, a pH this low causes proteins to interact strongly with each other. Muenster cheese has a moderate moisture content with a good amount of fat and some acidifcation.

When it comes to cheese, feta is a healthy choice. Not only is it packed with protein and fat – both essential nutrients for helping you to feel full and energised – it's also good for your gut. Probiotic yeasts in feta may lower the PH in your stomach, which is key for a healthy gut.