Greek Feta

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Brebis
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Greek Feta

Post by Brebis » Thu Jan 21, 2021 8:56 am

Well @Farrier1987 has been at me to get him this recipe so here it is. I’m moving so don’t have time to add a lot of detail but I’m happy to answer question of anyone needs.
Supplies such as cultures and rennet, etc can be sourced from Glengarry Cheesemaking (glengarrycheesemaking.com).
And remember, Cleanliness is next to Godliness when it comes to making good cheese!

Greek Feta, recipe from my Greek aunt Vasilki from the family village near Sparta

Can use sheep, goat or cow milk or a mixture, yield highest for sheep, lower for cow and goat and seasonality of milk production.

Fresh milk, or frozen and thawed if sheep milk
Pasteurize (72C for 16sec and cool to reqd temp) or raw only if you are confident it’s good quality.
Warm to 30-32C, add culture, stir and let sit 1hr.
Add calcium chloride 5min before rennet if using, increases yield especially if using bottled milk or frozen.
Add rennet, stir gently 1 min, let set 45 min - 1 hr at clean break.
Cut into 1.5cm cubes, let sit 5min.
Stir gently 30 min, remove some whey from top of cheese to a very clean bucket, cover and put aside.
Transfer curd to hoop, mould or cheesecloth place on a tray to drain.
Turn several times over next 12- 18 hrs to drain.
Remove from form, cut into pieces and salt all surfaces with coarse salt, place into very clean sealable container and cover.
Let sit 24hrs, prepare whey brine with 100g coarse salt/1L reserved whey. If there is cream on the top of the whey it should be skimmed off (makes nice butter). Mix brine well so salt is dissolved and pour over cheese in container to overflowing and seal shut to eliminate air.
Store a minimum of 1 month and if sealed well it can survive >1 yr. I gets better with age.
When removing cheese it will be fairly salty, you can mix some of the whey brine with water 2:1 and store in this to reduce the saltiness.
Keep well sealed with the brine covering the cheese to prevent mould.
4
Former dairy shepherd and owner of a menagerie of chickens and Pencilled Turkeys, now owned by three cats and a border collie x Australian shepherd pup.

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