Homemade FETA Cheese Recipes
Feta Cheese Recipe
What is Feta ?
Feta is a salty Greek cheese, usually made with either goat or sheep’s milk. Feta is neither soft nor hard cheese but in-between. It is wonderful crumbled on salads and crackers, and can also be used in cooking. Unlike most cheeses, it is ripened in brine. Feta develops quite a strong flavor and if you like “hardy” cheeses, you must give it a try.
Ingredients:
- 2-3 gallons goat milk – ( use a little over 3 gallons for raw, unpasteurized goat milk)
- 4 oz. mesophilic culture
- 1/4 – 1/2 tsp. Kid or Kid/Lamb Lipase powder
- 1 tsp. Liquid rennet dissolved in 1/2 Cup water
- Kosher salt
- Brine: 1/2 Cup Kosher salt per 1/2 gallon of water (boiled and cooled to below room temp.)
Directions:
- In a double boiler pot set up, warm the goat milk to 86°. Add the culture and lipase. Lipase is the enzyme that gives Feta that great Feta flavor.
- Stir well and let ripen, covered, for one hour.
- Keeping the milk at 86°, Add the rennet and stir briskly for 15 seconds. Cover and let set about 30-40 minutes, or until you get a “clean break”.
- You can check for a clean break by sticking your knife, or thermometer, into the curd at an angle. Pull straight up out of the curd; if the curd breaks cleanly around the knife and whey runs into the crack that is made; you have a “clean break.” Once you see this for the first time, you will know just what I mean.
- Cut the curd into 1/2″ pieces.
- Cutting the curds can be the most confusing part, but just don’t worry so much. Use a long knife held vertically and cut 1/2″ slices in the curds. Then turn the pot 90° and cut across in 1/2″ slices the other direction, making a kind of checkerboard pattern. Now hold the knife at a sideways 45° angle and retrace your cuts. Turn the pot 1/4 turn and retrace the cuts. Turn it again and cut and then one final turn and cut. By the last turn you probably won’t be able to see the original cuts, but just do the best you can. It is alright if think you did not cut the curd perfectly.
- Do not stir yet. Let the curds rest for 10 minutes.
- After this rest period, stir the curd gently and cut any pieces that you missed when you first cut the curd. Hold the curd at 86° for 45 minutes, carefully stirring occasionally to prevent the curd from sticking together. This process of “cooking” the curd helps the curd “toughen up” as well as release it’s whey.
- Place a big colander over a big pot and line the colander with a large piece of dampened cheesecloth. If you dampen the cheesecloth, it will stick slightly to the colander, holding it in place.
- Carefully pour the curd into the colander. Tie the corners of the cheesecloth together and hang the bag to drain.
- After 3-4 hours, take the cheese down and turn the cheese over in the cheesecloth, from top turned to bottom. This turning will “even up” the cheese into a nice form. Otherwise, it will have a rough form cheese; it is edible, just not so attractive.
- Let your cheese hang and continue draining for about 24 hours, at this point it will start to develop a distinctive odor. Inform your family of the odor if you need to.
- After your cheese has hung for about 24 hours or so, remove it from the cloth and cut it into slices or usable size cubes (about 2-3 inches). Sprinkle all the sides of the slices or cubes with kosher salt and place them in a sterilized, large, seal-able, container. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 2-3 days to “harden up” the blocks. The blocks will continue to release whey during this time; that is normal.
- Transfer the blocks (and their whey if you wish) to a large sterilized glass container. Add the brine. Do not add the brine too soon, the cheese sometimes starts softening up. The cheese is still good; you may just want to use it in cooking instead of for crumbling.
- Age for at least I month before use in order to develop flavor. Your Feta cheese will keep in its brine (refrigerated) for a very, very long time ( up to a year), and will only keep getting better (stronger). On occasion, you may find some mold forming on top of the brine. When this happens, just skim it off, the cheese is still fine. If a piece of the cheese was sticking above the brine, it may mold. Just remove it, the rest of the cheese is still good.
Always remember that it takes a lot of milk to make a little cheese. And how much cheese you get will also depend on other factors, like type of milk used, fat content of milk, stage of lactation of the goat that produced the milk, handling of curds, temperatures during cheese making and hang time, just to name a few.
More Goat Cheese Recipes, Check them out!
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Learn How To Marinate FETA Cheese
You can use feta purchased from the store, or learn how to make feta cheese using unpasteurized goat milk, and follow the above Feta cheese recipe.
Feta cheese is an excellent choice for making marinated cheese.
Marinated feta cheese will keep at room temperature for a time, if it is prepared properly. It can also be stored in a container in the refrigerator.
To keep the cheese at room temperature, you will need to use glass canning jars.
To use canning jars, first sterilize the jar, lid and ring by boiling in water for ten minutes. Remove all parts from the water with tongs and allow to cool.
Place alternating layers of herbs and cubes of feta cheese into the jar. Leave about 1″ space at the top. Cover the cheese and herbs completely with vegetable oil.
Stronger herbs will produce a more noticeable flavor in the cheese, but choose according to your taste. You can use either dried or fresh herbs. Some herbs that are typically used include:
- peppercorns
- garlic
- dill
- rosemary
- basil
- thyme
- bay leaves
- fig leaves
Directions:
- Olive oil will have the strongest flavor, and will add a beautiful golden-green color, but you can also use canola, soybean, or other vegetable oil if you prefer a lighter taste and look.
- Place the lid and ring on the jar and tighten. The cheese will keep without refrigeration for a while, as long as it is completely covered by the oil.
- Use your marinated feta as a snack.
- Experiment with your own combinations to find your favorite taste. French Feta Cheese
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