Home cheese-making
Feta-style brined cheese
IntermediateAbout Feta
A rennet curd drained, cubed, salted and aged in brine in the fridge.
- Hands-on
- 1 h 15 min
- Waiting
- 1 day 2 h
- Ageing
- At least 1–2 weeks in brine in the fridge (commercial PDO feta: 2+ months)
- Yield
- About 600 g
Milk & ingredients
4 litres pasteurised goat's or cow's milk (not UHT); sheep's if you can get it
- 4 litres milk
- Mesophilic culture (pack dose)
- Rennet (pack dose)
- ¼ tsp calcium chloride (shop milk)
- Salt for dry-salting and brine
Culture: Mesophilic
Coagulant: Rennet
Equipment
- Pot
- Thermometer
- Knife
- Muslin
- Moulds or colander
- Lidded container
Temperatures by stage
| Stage | Temperature |
|---|---|
| Ripen | 30–32 °C |
| Set | 30–32 °C |
| Brine | Fridge, about 4–8 °C |
Steps
- 1.WaitingWarm milk to 30–32 °C; add culture (and calcium chloride); ripen 1 hour.
- 2.WaitingAdd rennet; set 45–60 minutes until a clean break.
- 3.Hands-onCut into 1.5–2 cm cubes; stir gently 20 minutes.
- 4.WaitingLadle into cloth-lined moulds; drain 24 hours at cool room temperature, turning a few times.
- 5.WaitingCut into blocks, sprinkle with salt, rest a day in the fridge.
- 6.AgeingCover with brine (about 8% salt in water — a well-salted brine) in a lidded container; keep in the fridge.
Storage: Keep in its brine in the fridge; it keeps for weeks.
Troubleshooting
- Soft, slimy surface in brine
- Brine too weak or lacking calcium: add a little calcium chloride and more salt to the brine.
- Too salty
- Soak in milk or water before serving.
Cook with it
Sources
- Cheese Making Technology e-book — University of Guelph, Food Science
- Raw drinking milk — UK Food Standards Agency
- eAmbrosia — EU geographical indications register — European Commission
Guidance changes: check the source for current wording. Original text; figures quoted from the sources where stated.