It is widely used in salads and for making sauces. The most famous fresh cheese variety in the world. It is widely used in salads and making sauces storage container with lid

Feta is undoubtedly one of the most famous Greek cheeses, the origin of which goes far back in history. Feta is considered one of the oldest cheeses in the world!

The earliest mention of this cheese took place in the Byzantine Empire. Feta is closely related to Crete, located in present-day Greece. An Italian traveler in the city of Candia, in his letters dated 1494, specifically mentions the processes of aging cheese in cellars.

The word "feta" has an interesting origin story. Translated from the Italian word fetta means a slice. Perhaps this is due to the fact that when serving, the cheese was cut into thin slices. Fetta, in turn, is of Latin origin from ofa (meaning bite or bite). The word first appeared in Greek in the 17th century. According to myth, Cyclops Polyfimos was the first to cook it. In the Delphi Museum (6th century BC), artifacts also refer to the process of making feta cheese.

Varieties of Greek feta cheese can be found in many Balkan countries, as well as in the Mediterranean region.

In fact, Feta accounts for 70% of the consumption of Greek cheeses. The cheese is protected by EU legislation and only those cheeses produced in Macedonia, Thrace, Thessaly, Central Mainland Greece, Peloponnese and Lesbos can officially be called "Feta". Similar cheeses produced elsewhere, such as in the eastern Mediterranean and around the Black Sea, outside the EU, are often referred to as "white cheese".

To create traditional feta, 30% goat's milk is mixed with sheep's milk from animals grazing on pastures in specific regions of origin. Firmness, texture and taste differ from region to region, but in general the cheese from Macedonia and Thrace is softer and creamier, less salty with fewer holes. Feta, made in Thessaly and Central Greece, has a stronger flavor.

In general, Feta is a curd cheese, with a salty and spicy taste. It is distinguished by its graininess. Hardness can vary from soft to semi-hard. After maturing for 2 months, Feta is sold in square blocks immersed in brine. Cheese can be used as a cut on the table, an addition to pizza or added to a Greek salad. Pairs well with olive oil, red pepper and nuts. If necessary, it can be rinsed with water to get rid of excess salt.

Cooking process

You will need:

• 10 liters of milk;
• ¼ tsp;
• thermometer;
• drainage mat ;

Our recipe uses cow's milk, but it can be substituted with goat's or sheep's milk for a more traditional taste.

Milk preparation

Pasteurize the milk before starting the cheese making process. This is the only way you can be sure that your milk is safe. Still don't know what pasteurization is? The article describes this procedure in detail.
Now you can go directly to the recipe.

Heat milk to 34°C.
After reaching the desired temperature, add the pre-activated starter culture (¼ tsp). Read about the starter activation process. Leave the milk for 40-60 minutes.

Coagulation (coagulation) of milk

After 40-60 minutes, rennet should be added to the milk. To do this, dilute ½ tsp. rennet in ¼ cup room temperature water and pour the resulting solution into the milk.
Stir the milk thoroughly (about 2-3 minutes). Within 10 minutes, the milk will begin to thicken. However, the entire coagulation process takes about 40 minutes from the moment the rennet is added. After the clotting is completed, it is necessary to check the readiness and correctness of the resulting clot. You can see the clean department.

Working with curd, filling molds and shaping cheese heads

1. Cut the formed clot into cubes with a side of 1.5 - 2 cm.
2. Then knead the cheese grain for 20 minutes, maintaining approximately the original temperature (it's not scary if it drops a few degrees). The firmness of your finished cheese depends on the kneading time. After kneading, let the grain settle to the bottom for 10 minutes.
3. Before filling out the forms, they must be disinfected. To do this, wash the molds well and pour over with boiling water.
4. Remove the whey to the level of the curd, and then transfer the mass to the mould.
5. Leave the mass in the mold overnight (8-10 hours) at a temperature of 20-22°C. During the first two hours, the cheese head should be turned over as often as possible. This cheese requires a small weight (about 1 kg), since Feta cheese is well pressed under its own weight. During this time, the starter will continue to increase acidity. By morning, the cheese should be quite firm, in addition, a sour smell should appear (pH = 4.7-4.8).
6. Now the resulting mass can be cut into smaller pieces to ensure their uniform salting.

Salting

To prepare the brine you will need:

• 1 liter of boiled water;
• 200 grams of table salt.

Boil water, add salt, stir well until the salt dissolves, strain through and cool the resulting brine.

Place the cheese cubes in the brine for 8 hours.

After 8 hours, remove the cubes from the brine and place them on a drainage mat. Leave for 2-3 days, keeping the temperature at 10-13°C. Cheese can be covered. The blocks should be turned over several times a day to help dry the surface of the cheese evenly.

Storing Feta Cheese in Brine

Feta cheese storage brine is 8% brine. The brine should completely cover the cheese during storage. Ripening temperature - 10-13 ° C. Term - 30 days. Subsequently, Feta cheese should be stored in a brine-filled room at a temperature of 5-7 ° C until the moment of use.

If the cheese seems too salty when you eat it, just soak it in milk for a few hours.

Salad with feta cheese is an ideal dish for a nutritious breakfast, a full lunch, a light dinner or as a spicy addition to the main course - you can eat salads with feta cheese in any case, which is convenient, and also extremely healthy and very tasty!

When choosing feta cheese, be sure to read the label! The composition of real Feta cheese includes sheep's milk, possibly a small (up to 30%) goat content.

How to cook a salad with feta cheese - 15 varieties

Greek Salad with Feta Cheese

The recipe for the famous Greek salad with Feta cheese will decorate the culinary collection of any housewife.

Ingredients:

• Tomato 3 pcs.
• Fresh cucumber 1 pc.
• Bulgarian sweet pepper 3 pcs.
• Sweet onion 1 pc.
• Garlic 1 clove
• Feta cheese 200 gr.
• Olives to taste
• Olive oil 50 ml.

Cooking:

1. Wash cucumber, tomato and bell pepper thoroughly and dry.
2. Peel the cucumber.
3. Cut vegetables into medium sized cubes.
4. Mince the garlic with a knife.
5. Onion cut into rings.
6. Cheese cut into separate large cubes.
7. Add whole olives to salad.
8. Lightly salt and stir all vegetables, season with olive oil.
9. Top with olives and feta cheese cut into small, neat cubes.

Spring recipe for a very healthy vitamin salad.

Ingredients:

• Beets 2 pcs.
• Feta cheese 200 gr.
• Arugula salad
• Oregano 2-3 leaves
• Thyme 2-3 sprigs
• Arugula salad 100 gr.
• Walnut 50 gr.
• Garlic 1 clove
• Soy sauce 4-5 tbsp. spoons
• Dill 2-3 sprigs
• Lemon juice 1-2 tbsp. spoons
• Olive oil 100 ml.

Cooking:

1. Bake the beets in the oven for 30 minutes. Clean and cut into thin slices.
2. Cut cheese into large pieces. Marinate cheese in oil with oregano and thyme.
3. Wash and dry lettuce.
4. Prepare the sauce.
5. To do this, chop the walnuts.
6. Finely chop the garlic.
7. Saute nuts and garlic in olive oil in a pan. Add soy sauce there and heat for 5 minutes.
8. Add finely chopped dill and the juice of half a lemon to the hot sauce.
9. Arrange salad ingredients on a platter. Drizzle dressing over salad.

A traditional salad with the addition of Beijing cabbage suddenly acquires a very piquant taste, but still remains light and satisfying.

Ingredients:

• Chinese cabbage 1 head
• Tomato 2 pcs.
• Feta cheese 100 gr.
• Olives to taste
• Oregano, salt to taste
• Olive oil 50 ml.
• Lemon juice 2 tbsp. spoons

Cooking:

Chop the head of cabbage into thin strips, salt, lightly mash and leave for 15 minutes.

Cut thoroughly washed tomatoes into cubes.

In order for tomatoes to keep their shape well, choose not overripe fruits.

Cut the feta cheese into cubes.

Add diced cheese, tomatoes, halves of olives to the cabbage.

Sprinkle the ingredients with lemon juice, season with olive oil and add oregano.

Mix everything thoroughly.

An amazingly tasty, attractive-looking and, most importantly, healthy vegetable salad with feta, potatoes and tomatoes will win over your loved ones.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes 2 pcs.
• Tomato 1 pc.
• Bulgarian pepper of different colors 3 pcs.
• Onion 1 pc.
• Cucumber 1 pc.
• Olives 50 gr.
• Cheese "Feta" 100g.
• Olive oil 50 ml.

Cooking:

1. Wash potatoes, cut into cubes. Boil until tender in salted water.
2. Peel and chop the onion.
3. Wash the bell pepper and remove the membranes and seeds. Nicely cut into triangles or squares.
4. Cut the tomato and cucumber into cubes.
5. Mix vegetables, add oil and olives.
6. Feta cheese cut and put on the finished dish.
7. Salt and pepper the salad.

Summer juicy salad, you will be pleasantly surprised how successfully and interestingly the ingredients are combined in it. Fresh mint leaves successfully complement the palette of taste.

Ingredients:

• Melon to taste
• Feta cheese to taste
• Pepper, ground to taste
• Mint fresh to taste

Cooking:

1. Peel the pulp of the melon.
2. Scoop out the seeds from the core of the melon.
3. Cut the pulp into large cubes.
4. Feta cheese cut into cubes.
5. Pieces of cheese and melon should be about the same size.
6. Mix Feta cheese with melon pulp, add fresh mint leaves, cut into thin strips.
7. Season the salad with ground pepper to taste.
8. Mix carefully.

Chickpeas are a terrific product rich in vegetable protein. Thanks to its useful properties and beautiful appearance, it is considered the most fashionable product of the 21st century.

Salad Ingredients:

• Chickpeas 100 gr.
• Pumpkin 200 gr.
• Onion 1 pc.
• Spinach 100 gr.
• Garlic 5 cloves
• Sugar 1 teaspoon
• Salt pepper
• Cilantro 50 gr.
• Mint 50 gr.
• Green onion 50 gr.

Dressing Ingredients:

• Mustard 1 teaspoon
• Salt pepper
• Olive oil 2 tbsp.
• Vinegar 1 teaspoon
• White wine 1 tbsp. the spoon

Cooking:

1. Soak chickpeas overnight and boil without adding salt.
2. Cut the peeled pumpkin into small cubes.
3. Peel the onion and cut into slices.
4. Place pumpkin, onion and garlic on a baking sheet. Salt and pepper and sprinkle with sugar.
5. Put in the oven for 5-7 minutes at a temperature of 220 degrees.
6. Prepare the dressing by mixing all the ingredients.
7. Pour half the dressing over the peas.
8. Chop the feta.
9. Coarsely chop the green onion, cilantro and mint.
10. Put on a dish in layers: spinach leaves, peas, vegetables, cheese and herbs.
11. Drizzle dressing over salad.

Salad with chicken and feta cheese is prepared quickly and simply, and its spicy taste will appeal to many.

Ingredients:

• Chicken fillet -200 gr.
• Feta cheese 100 gr.
• Cucumber 1 pc.
• Tomato 1 pc.
• Vegetable oil 100 ml.

Cooking:

1. Chicken fillet boiled in salted water cut into cubes.
2. Feta cheese and cucumber cut into cubes
3. Tomato cut into slices
4. Mix all ingredients gently and season with salt.
5. Before serving, season the salad with vegetable oil.
6. If desired, add lemon juice to taste.

The preparation of this salad will take you no more than 5 minutes, and a charge of vivacity and a feeling of satiety will remain for the whole day.

Ingredients:

• Iceberg salad 300 gr.
• Cucumber 2 pcs.
• Tomato 1 pc.
• Celery stalk 2 pcs.
• Feta cheese 100 gr.
• Vegetable oil 50 ml.
• Salt, pepper to taste.

Cooking:

1. Lettuce cut into large cubes.
2. Cut the celery stalk, tomato, cucumber and cheese into small cubes.
3. Add vegetable oil.
4. Salt, pepper to taste.

Salad with feta cheese and avocado - a truly original recipe! A storehouse of vitamins and taste sensations.

Salad Ingredients:

• A mixture of lettuce green leaves 150 gr.
• Avocado 2 pcs.
• Bulb 1 pc.
• Cherry tomatoes 225 gr.
• Cheese "Feta" or cheese 200 gr.

Dressing Ingredients:

• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• Olive oil 50 ml.
• Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon

Cooking:

1. Cut the avocado in half and remove the pits. Cut into slices and dip in 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
2. Peel the onion and finely chop.
3. Place lettuce leaves in bowl with avocado and onion.
4. Cut tomatoes in half, add to bowl. Mix carefully.
5. Crumble the feta cheese, sprinkle on top.
6. Prepare the dressing. To do this, just put all the ingredients for dressing in a jar with a lid, shake vigorously and season with salt and black pepper.
7. Drizzle dressing over salad, toss and serve immediately.

Salad with fried watermelon and feta is an unusual and interesting dish. Prepare it and please your loved ones.

Ingredients:

• Watermelon 500 gr.
• Cheese "Feta" or cheese 200 gr.
• Arugula salad 50 gr.
• Sesame seeds 1 teaspoon
• Vegetable oil 50 gr.
• Lemon juice 1 tbsp. the spoon.
• Salt to taste

Cooking:

Cheese cut into small cubes.

Peel the watermelon and cut into large cubes.

Fry in a dry frying pan on both sides.

To make the watermelon golden brown, pat it dry on both sides with a paper towel.

Put arugula, slices of fried watermelon, cheese on a plate.

Drizzle the salad with oil, drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

A very simple, easy to prepare and delicious Greek-style pasta salad with Feta cheese and a variety of vegetables.

Salad Ingredients:

• Pasta 250 gr.
• Corn, canned 0.5 cans
• Pitted black olives 0.5 jar
• Bulgarian pepper 0.5 pcs.
• Cherry tomatoes 15 pcs.
• Feta cheese 50 gr.
• Ground black pepper to taste

Dressing Ingredients:

• Garlic 1-2 cloves
• Red wine vinegar 20 ml.
• Olive oil 100 ml.
• Lemon juice 1 tbsp. the spoon
• Salt 1 teaspoon
• Dry mustard 0.5 tsp
• Oregano dry 0.25 tsp
• Honey or sugar 0.25 tsp
• Dry thyme (or dry dill) to taste
• Pepper, ground to taste

Cooking:

1. Boil the pasta. Throw away in a colander. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Transfer to bowl with pasta.
3. Remove seeds from pepper and cut into cubes. Transfer to bowl with pasta.
4. Add chopped olives to the salad.
5. Drain the liquid from the can of corn. Add corn to the rest of the ingredients.
6. Cheese cut into small cubes.
7. Add feta cheese to taste.
8. Pepper and mix gently.
9. Prepare the dressing.
10. For the sauce, mix all ingredients in a processor.
11. Pour over pasta salad and toss again.

Summer, sun, sea… This salad will harmoniously fit into your summer menu.

Ingredients:

• Peaches 3 pcs.
• Feta cheese 100 gr.
• Arugula 50 gr.
• Honey 1 tbsp. the spoon
• Olive oil 50 ml.
• Balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon
• Ground black pepper to taste.

Cooking:

1. Peaches cut into slices.
2. Pour a little olive oil into the pan, add a spoonful of honey and quickly fry the peaches.
3. Crumble the feta into a bowl.
4. Add arugula and peaches.
5. Season with olive oil, add a little balsamic vinegar.
6. Pepper to taste.

Salad with beef, cucumber and Feta cheese is a healthy salad for those who care about their figure and also try to eat right.

Ingredients:

• Cheese "Feta" 100 gr.
• Beef 200 gr.
• Cucumber 3 pcs.
• Sour cream 100 gr.
• Potatoes 3 pcs.

Cooking:

1. Boiled potatoes cut into cubes.
2. Cut boiled beef into strips.
3. Cut fresh cucumber into strips.
4. Mix all ingredients with sour cream and salt.
5. Cut the feta cheese into large pieces.
6. Put in salad.
7. Gently mix salad with cheese.

Tabbouleh Salad with Feta Cheese and Couscous

The taste of Tabbouleh salad is characteristic of southern Mediterranean cuisine in general, and Greek cuisine in particular. However, Feta cheese is already, undoubtedly, a Greek element that enriches the taste of the dish.

The classic Feta cheese is a popular fermented milk product, which is considered to be the birthplace of Greece. It necessarily includes sheep's or goat's milk, and in terms of consistency it turns out to be slightly crumbly semi-solid and has a mild, delicate taste with slight notes of lactic acidity. Now this type of cheese is produced in almost all European countries, mainly from cow's milk, and is also called Fetaksa or Fetaki.

The calorie content of the product is quite high for fermented milk products - approximately 260-270 kcal per 100 g, so it is not dietary, as it seems at first glance.

If you want to try your hand at the art of cheese making, then homemade feta cheese is the perfect option for a beginner cheese maker, because the process of making it is one of the easiest. Consider step by step with a photo various recipes for feta cheese and learn how to make it at home on your own.

Lazy Feta

This instruction is very simple and contains only 2 ingredients. Sourdough is not used here. The output is approximately 420-450 g of finished products.

You will need:

• Homemade milk - 2.5 l;
• Salt - 2 incomplete teaspoons.

Cooking scheme:

1. We put fresh milk in heat for 6-10 hours. During this time, it should slightly sour, but remain liquid. Make sure that it does not turn into yogurt, otherwise nothing will work;
2. Pour it into a saucepan and put it in a cold oven. We set the temperature level to 180 degrees and warm up the contents for an hour. Periodically opening the oven door, you need to make sure that the milk does not boil. If this happens, then you should slightly reduce the temperature;
3. During this hour, a curd clot should form on the surface. It must be moved to a colander, previously covered with a piece of gauze fabric folded 4 times;
4. We tilt the colander itself and leave it for 20 minutes in this state to allow the whey to drain;
5. We add the future cheese on top with an incomplete teaspoon of salt, then carefully shift it with the salty side down into a plastic container lined with cling film and trim the edges with a culinary plastic spatula;
6. Again, add the mass on top with the rest of the salt and put a special piston for cheese. It is better not to lay the product under the load. If serum forms on top, then it should be removed;
7. After cooling, place the product in the refrigerator for 12 hours. After that, feta cheese at home will be ready. It should have a light salty taste. You can store it in a mold where it has cooled, or in brine, which is made from one liter of whey and three tablespoons of salt.

Such a delicious homemade cheese will turn out no worse than a store-bought one, and its production will be much cheaper.

Feta on sourdough

This recipe is a little more complicated than the previous one - it uses sourdough. From the indicated amount of ingredients, 300 g of a fresh fermented milk product is obtained.

You will need:

• Homemade milk - 3.5 l;
• Calcium chloride and rennet sourdough - a quarter of a teaspoon;
• Salt - 5 large spoons;
• Boiled cold water - 200 ml.

Feta cheese step by step:

1. We fill an enameled saucepan with milk and heat it to 86 degrees. To accurately measure the temperature, it is better to use a special cooking thermometer;
2. Next, add rennet and calcium chloride (each of these ingredients must be dissolved in 100 ml of boiled cool water). Chloride gives the finished product the necessary degree of hardness, but you can do without it;
3. Mix the milk thoroughly, cover the pan with a lid and put it in heat for about an hour. This time is enough for the formation of a curd clot, which then needs to be cut with a knife into small cubes and left to lie in the whey for about 10 more minutes;
4. Next, we heat the container with the resulting mass on a small flame to a temperature level of 90 degrees. In the process of heating, gently stir the curd cubes;
5. We cover the colander with gauze, rolled up in three layers, and filter the contents from the previous step;
6. We collect the cottage cheese remaining on the gauze fabric into a knot, tie it and hang it in a cool place over some container so that the whey is glass (then do not pour it out). This action will take about 8 hours;
7. The finished cheese should be slightly dense and keep its shape. We cut it into plates with a thickness of about 2 cm, add them and put them in the refrigerator for about 7 hours. If you do not like too salty foods, you can skip this step or reduce the amount of salt;
8. The final touch is cutting the product into medium-sized cubes, which then need to be folded into an ordinary glass jar and poured with brine, which is done by mixing two glasses of whey and three large spoons of salt. This extends the shelf life of the feta to three weeks.

Feta on sour cream and pepsin

Another option for making a popular cheese at home.

You need:

• Boiled water - 250 ml;
• Goat milk - 2 l;
• Pepsin - 1 g;
• Homemade sour cream - 200 g.

We prepare as follows:

1. Milk is divided into two equal parts of 1 liter. We heat the first half on a small flame to a temperature of 38 degrees (for accurate measurements we use a special thermometer), and combine the second with sour cream;
2. Dissolve pepsin in boiled water and pour into the milk-sour cream mixture;
3. In an enameled saucepan, combine both parts of the milk and put it in heat for 6 hours;
4. After this time, we drain the whey, wrap the cheese in cheesecloth and put it under oppression for another 12 hours. The product should be well wrung out so that there is no excess whey;
5. The finished fermented milk product is best stored in brine, which consists of a teaspoon of calcium chloride and 100 g of salt dissolved in a liter of water.

Feta baked in foil

With feta, you can make many original and delicious dishes. The most popular of them is the world famous one. We also offer you to prepare a light quick snack based on the most delicate cheese.

Grocery list:

• Feta - 200 g;
• Olive oil - 4 tablespoons;
• One red dried pepper (hot);
• Ripe big tomato;
• Garlic - 4 cloves;
• Zest from half a lemon;
• Dried or fresh oregano.

Cooking instruction:

1. We set the oven to warm up to a temperature of 190 degrees;
2. We cut the feta into 4 slices and carefully soak with a paper towel from excess moisture;
3. We place each piece on a small piece of foil so that it is convenient to wrap later;
4. Cut the tomato into circles and lay out one for each cheese slice;
5. Finely chop the garlic, red pepper and oregano, then sprinkle each piece on top. Also add lemon zest.
6. Drizzle with olive oil, wrap well in foil and place in the oven for 15 minutes. On this, feta cheese baked in the oven is ready. When serving, it can be supplemented with white bread toasted in the oven, or consumed as an independent dish.

Video: Homemade feta cheese on kefir

This product is made from sheep's and goat's milk in the form of a large chunk, hence the name "fetax" (literally translated as a chunk). The product was first produced in Greece, but over time the recipe spread all over the world, and now our cheese makers also prepare feta cheese at home. It turns out to be semi-solid in texture, but tender and soft in taste, with a slight lactic acidity, both you and your loved ones will be delighted with such a product.

The decision to make fetax cheese at home is made by everyone based on their own reasons: it is expensive for someone to buy store products, someone considers it unhealthy, and someone is just interested in trying their hand at cheesemaking.

Making cheese is not an easy task, requiring special skills and abilities, but with feta, everything is a little different. It is made simply, so the first "samples" in the preparation of cheeses should fall on the production of this particular Greek product. Then you will understand the basics of cheese making in general and will not be disappointed in your abilities and the result of your efforts.

How to make feta cheese at home: a recipe with fresh milk

Ingredients

• — 2 l + -
• - 1 tsp + -
• Sourdough - 1 pack + -

Making feta cheese at home

The first recipe for making artfully tender Greek cheese will be classic, i.e. We will cook it with homemade cow's milk.

Of course, in Greece it is made on the basis of a different type of milk, or rather, a mixture of them - goat and sheep. But since it is difficult to get such a product in its natural form, we will replace it with cow's milk. It will taste very similar to the original.

This recipe is simple and understandable at each of its culinary stages, but in order to completely protect you from mistakes, we will consider the preparation of fetax cheese step by step.

• Boil fresh milk until foam appears, then cool it to room temperature.
• Pour a chilled ladle of milk into a clean glass and pour 1 package of dry sourdough into it. It can be bought without problems at any pharmacy.
• We stir the starter in a glass of milk with a spoon, then pour the resulting mass into the main one.
• We send fermented milk for 7-9 hours in heat so that living bacteria can do their job - turn milk into a cheese mass.

The smaller the containers in which milk is fermented, the faster the process of decomposition of the dairy product into whey and cottage cheese occurs. Therefore, we recommend pouring the prepared mixture into small glass jars, then cover them with lids and put in a warm place.

• When you see that the whey has separated, cover the bottom of the colander with a clean waffle towel or ordinary gauze, slightly wrapping the pieces of gauze / towel over its edges.
• We place the covered colander in a saucepan, after which we pour the first jar of fermented milk into it. Thanks to the towel/gauze, the whey will “go down” and the cottage cheese will remain at the bottom of the colander. We also do with all the other containers - we filter them in turn through a covered colander.
• We collect the edges of the fabric in the middle and tie them into a knot - we get a kind of bag, which we hang by the ends on a crossbar, a nail or a tap so that the remaining serum slowly drains. On average, this process will take about 30 minutes.

• As soon as the remaining whey drains, we return the bag with the curdled mass to a colander, and, in turn, place it in a clean bowl and press the bag down with oppression (a 1-1.5-liter jar filled with water) for 1-2 hours.
• After the specified time, drain the whey from the bowl and stir it with salt.
• Pour the salty whey mixture with boiled water, mix everything thoroughly, put a bag of Greek cheese into the resulting mass.
• In this brine, leave the future feta cheese for 1-2 hours. During this time, the fetax will soak with salt and acquire a pleasant slightly salty aftertaste.

Important: when “lying” in brine, it is almost impossible to oversalt cheese. During the time that the feta will arrive in the brine liquid, the cheese will absorb as much salt as it needs - and not a gram more.

After the specified period of time, we take out the homemade feta cheese from the brine and carefully cut it into beautiful portioned slices.

What to serve with fetax cheese

Thanks to its refined taste, semi-hard cheese is combined with many ingredients, and most importantly, they are all accessible and simple. So absolutely any housewife can create an exquisite aristocratic table. To do this, you just need to cook feta cheese at home, and then it's up to the small.

Homemade feta cheese is served with a variety of products, but it is precisely such components that perfectly complement its taste:

• chopped fresh herbs (spinach, parsley, dill, etc.);
• vegetables (cucumbers, olives, onions, bell peppers);
• toasts, or as we used to call them - croutons;
• seafood, meat (such as chicken or turkey), fish;
• sweet grapes.

Most often, fetax is cut (in cubes) into a Greek salad, it is thanks to him that feta cheese has become so popular in our country.

In addition to salad, cheese can be eaten alone, with only spices (basil, mint, Provencal mixture, oregano and any other spices to taste are suitable) and fine red wine. This idea of ​​serving delicate Greek fetax cheese is perfect for festive feasts, social events and just friendly gatherings with real gourmet friends.

Baking lovers can add their favorite cheese to the composition of the pie filling - it turns out incredibly tasty and piquant. In a word, how and with what to serve your favorite homemade Greek-style milk product is up to you, the most important thing is to cook it correctly, and there nothing can spoil its divine taste.

As mentioned above, making fetax at home with your own hands is quite simple, but you cannot do without knowing a proven recipe and practical tips.

There are several important points in the preparation of the Greek product that you should learn before proceeding directly with the cheese making process itself.

1. We use only fresh and homemade milk. This is an important condition, without which good quality cheese will not work. Store-bought milk, no matter how much dry sourdough is poured into it, will not sour properly.
2. One sachet of sourdough starter is enough to thicken 1-3 liters of homemade milk.
3. If you made a mistake in the technology, and the feta turned out to be too salty, soak it in ordinary milk or mineral water for literally 3-4 minutes, right before serving.
4. It is necessary to store ready-made homemade fetax cheese only in brine, then its shelf life will be endless.

The calorie content of Greek feta cheese is 290 kcal per 100 g of dairy product.

From the use of such goodies, you are unlikely to gain a lot of extra pounds, especially if you eat only a couple of pieces, but such a number of calories is unacceptable for a diet.

If you are losing weight or are strictly calculating your daily calories, then you should cook feta cheese not with full-fat cow's milk, but with natural yogurt. Then the calorie content will decrease significantly - from 290 kcal to 57 kcal per 100 g of product. This cooking technology will be discussed in the next recipe.

Feta Cheese: Yogurt Recipe

This recipe can be safely called dietary. Cheese obtained using this technology is great for diet and fasting days. If you force the festive table mainly with dishes from such cheese, then you will not cause much damage to the figure, but you will definitely remain full and satisfied.

Ingredients

• Yogurt (natural) from goat's milk - 1 kg;
• Sea salt - 1 tsp;
• Chili pepper - 2 pcs.;
• Olive oil - 1 tbsp;
• Cumin, fennel - to taste;
• Lemon - 1 pc.;
• Mint - 3 sprigs.

How to make feta cheese at home from yogurt

1. Grind ½ lemon zest with a grater, mix the grated mass with olive oil, natural yogurt and sea salt.
2. We cover the colander with gauze folded in several layers, then we transfer the prepared food mixture into it.
3. We set a colander over a bowl and put everything in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
4. After 2 days, all the whey will drain, and we will be able to make peculiar balls of medium diameter from the resulting curd-lemon mass.
5. Toast the cumin and fennel seeds in a dry frying pan to bring out their full flavor. Then add chopped chili peppers to a hot container (we first remove the seeds from it) and also lightly fry it over medium heat.
6. Cut off half the skin from the lemon, carefully cut off the leaves from the mint.
7. We spread the hand-made cheese balls into the pan, pour olive oil into them, put the whole peel (from ½ lemon), as well as roasted peppers, fennel and caraway seeds.
8. We cover all this with a lid and put it in the refrigerator for 2 days.

This is the end of the simple preparation - you can enjoy the fragrant and spicy dietary feta cheese. Cut it, according to tradition, into beautiful small slices and eat it along with raw vegetables and herbs.

As you can see, making feta cheese at home is incredibly easy. Even a novice hostess can master this technology. If you manage to cook such a product for the first time, then everything will go “like clockwork” and cooking Greek fetax cheese will become your favorite pastime.

Good luck with cheesemaking!

The most famous fresh cheese variety in the world. It is widely used in salads and for making sauces.

Since ancient times, Balkan shepherds have been preparing feta, looking after their herds of goats and sheep in the foothills of the Carpathians.
Cow's milk, as a raw material, began to be used later - this is a Mediterranean tradition. And feta blended into Greek cuisine so organically that we know it as an example of the culinary art of Hellas.

Has been certified by AOC (French Appellation d'origine controlee) since 2002.

Ingredients

• 5 l milk
• 1/16 tsp mesophilic starter culture 1
• 1.25 ml liquid rennet
• 0.5 ml solution 2 10% calcium chloride

1 0.16 g Danisco Choozit MA 11 or 1/4 tsp. (0.56 g) MESO-1 Dilute 2 10 grams of dry calcium chloride in 100 ml of boiled water.
Store the solution in your household refrigerator.
Best before sedimentation.

Equipment

Cooking

1. you pasteurized 3 milk, cool it down to 33°C, add the starter, then mix, and leave for 60 minutes.
2. Take 50 ml of warm water in 2 containers: in one you add a solution of calcium chloride (not granules!), in the second - a coagulant (rennet / vegetarian chymosin), after which, add the mixture to the pan, and mix again.
3. Now, clot must ripen. To do this, close the pan with a lid, and leave for 20-30 minutes at room temperature: after this time, you will see a cheese clot - gel, under a layer of translucent whey. It needs to be checked for a “clean break”: for this, you need to take a knife and make a shallow cut “at an angle”, and lift this part of the clot; if its edges are even, the incision site is filled with serum - this means that it is time to move on to the next step; if this does not happen, wait another 10-15 minutes.
4. Cut the clot into cubes with a party 1.5 cm and stir for 5 minutes. After - leave for 10 minutes so that the grain settles to the bottom of the pan.
5. Pour off most of the whey so that the grain shows through the surface and fill in the forms. Now you can remove the cheese in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours.
6. The last step: you need to remove the molds and fold the heads into food container which will be filled 10% brine 4 ; it is in it that feta should aged 5-10 days.

3 It is important to remember that cheese cannot be cooked from store-bought packaged milk - in dairies, pasteurization is carried out at high temperatures, as a result of which protein denaturation occurs, and a clot simply does not form. You can buy raw farm milk and pasteurize it yourself by heating it to 72-75°C, holding for 20 seconds, then cooling as soon as possible. Also, this manipulation can be carried out at t = 65-68 ° C, but it will be a little longer - 20 minutes, it is impossible to speed up the process, because not all pathogenic bacteria will die. 4 To prepare 4 liters of 10% brine, you will need to dissolve 440 grams of salt in boiled water, 4 grams of dry calcium chloride, and add 2.5 ml of 9% vinegar. Russell is ready.