Episode 4: Feta
Feta
Feta is traditionally made in Greece from ewe's milk but cow's milk would work as well.
INGREDIENTS AND APPARATUS:
4 Litres fresh goat's milk or cow's milk
1 Tbl fresh yogurt
1/2 tablet rennet, dissolve in 1/4 cup water
5+ litre pot with lid (stainless steel with heavy bottom is best,
enamel works, but you must stir it!)
1 long bladed knife
2 clean sterile handkerchiefs or muslin cloth
strainer
cheese mold: You can buy one or make one by cutting the ends out of
a smooth-sided 9 cm x 12 cm tin can - , save one of the cut
ends - or at a push an old ice cream container will work too
table salt
1. Warm milk to 30�C (86�F). Stir regularly so that it
does not burn on the bottom. (Less stirring is required if the pot
has a thick heat dissipating bottom.) Remove from
heat.
2. Mix 1 Tbl yogurt with equal part milk to blend, then stir the
blended yogurt and milk into the warmed milk to thoroughly
mix. Cover and let inoculated milk sit for one hour at room
temperature.
3. While the inoculated milk sits, dissolve 1/2 tablet rennet
in fresh cool water
4. After the inoculated milk has sat for one hour, add dissolved
rennet to the inoculated milk stir to mix thoroughly.
5. Let the inoculated, renneted milk sit covered overnight at room
temperature.
6. The next morning, the milk should have gelled
Some of the whey will have separated. Check for a clean
break.
Cut curd: start at one side, cut straight down to bottom. Make the
next cut 1 cm from and parallel to the first, but sloping slightly
(the sliced curd will be wider at bottom than top). Repeat
increasing angle with each cut
Turn pot 90�, repeat cuts
Repeat cuts and turning two more times. The curd pieces should be
about 1cm cubes.
7. With very clean hand and arm, reach to the bottom and gently
lift the curds to stir. Cut large pieces which appear with a table
knife so that they are 1 cm cubes
Let the cut curds sit, with occasional stirring, for 10-15 minutes
until curd is somewhat contracted.
8. Decant off the whey through the strainer lined with the
handkerchief, pour curds into handkerchief. Save the whey to make
whey brine in step 11.
Let drain until no more whey drains out (about 2-4 hours). It
may be drained at room temperature, or in the refrigerator
9. Place drained curds into a bowl, mix in a 1/2 tsp
salt, breaking up the curd.
10. Press into mold as per basic cheese: Line can with
handkerchief, place curds inside, fold over ends of cloth, place
end on top, and place weight on top of that. Let sit
overnight.
11. Prepare pickling whey brine (12.5% salt): 350 mls of whey (from
step 8) plus 5 Tbl salt. Stir to dissolve. The brine must be acidic
or else the cheese will melt on the surface
12. Cut cheese into 3 cm cubes, place into wide-mouth jar. Pour
brine over to cover. Let pickle for several days in the
refrigerator. The cheese will become drier and more easily crumbled
with time. Store in the fridge. Rinse before use to remove excess
salt
