Archives for November 2010

What’s not to like about Feta?  It’s is a delicious fresh cheese that is easily made at home.  So without further ado, here is the Feta Cheese tutorial which is the next in the cheesemaking series.

Feta (Greek: φέτα) is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. Feta is an aged crumbly cheese, commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. It is used as a table cheese, as well as in salads (e.g the Greek salad), pastries and in baking. It can also be served cooked or grilled, as part of a sandwich or as a salty alternative to other cheeses in a variety of dishes.

Now what are you waiting for?  Get some milk and get cracking!

Feta Style Cheese

Ingredients

• 4 litres (1 gallon) full cream cow’s milk
• ¼ teaspoon of lipase diluted in 60ml (¼ cup) of non-chlorinated water
• 1/8th teaspoon of direct set Mesophilic culture
• ¼ teaspoon (2.5 ml) rennet diluted in ¼ cup (60 ml) of non-chlorinated water
• ¼ teaspoon (2.5 ml) calcium chloride diluted in ¼ cup (60 ml) of non-chlorinated water (if milk is homogenised)

Fully saturated brine

Method

Clean and sanitize your utensils and leave to air dry.

1.  Add the milk to the large pot.  Stir in the lipase solution.

2.  Heat milk to 30°C (86°F), then add the starter culture.  Cover for 1 hour.

3.  Maintaining the target temperature of 30°C (86°F), add the rennet solution and stir, top to bottom, for 1 minute.  Cover and allow to coagulate for 1 hour.

4.  Check for a clean break, then using your curd knife, cut curd into 1.25 cm (½ inch) cubes.  Rest the curds for 10 minutes at the target temperature.

5.  Stir the curds for 20 minutes, during which you will notice that they will shrink and expel whey.

6.  Pour the curds and whey into a cheesecloth lined colander, and allow to drain for 30 minutes.  Dividing the curds into two equal portions, ladle into 2 square cheese moulds lined with cheese cloth.

7.  Fold over excess cheesecloth and stack one mould on top of the other.  Place a 2 litre (2 qt.) milk carton filled with water on top of the second mould, which serves as the weight.  It doesn’t need much pressure to form the block of Feta.

8.  After two hours have elapsed, the blocks will have shrunk enough to place both together in a single mould forming one block.  Cover again with the excess cheesecloth and press with the 2 litre milk carton for a further 2 hours.

9.  Once pressed, add the cheese to the fully saturated brine.  Leave in the brine for two days in the fridge.  At the end of the first day, flip the cheese over.  Wait until the end of the second day, then enjoy the finished Feta.

It should look something like this!

For those of you who want to make this delicious cheese at home, then take a look at our Feta Cheese Kit over at Little Green Workshops.  It has everything you need to get started.