Our Feta recipe is made with whole fat cow milk but ewe or goats milk can easily be used to achieve more traditional flavors.
The recipe below is for 4.5 gallons of milk, if you would like to make a 2 gallon batch, simply reduce the culture and rennet and change the press weight as indicated below. This will make about 2.5 lbs of cheese.
Ingredients & weights for a 2 gallon batch
- 1/8 tsp MM 100 or 1 packet C21 buttermilk culture and 3.5-4 oz prepared Y1 Bulgarian Yogurt (can substitute any good fresh bulgarian style yogurt)
- 1/4 tsp single strength liquid rennet
- For consolidating and forming the cheese use only a pint jar of water for weight (you can also choose to use no weight depending on the texture desired)
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Acidify & Heat Milk
This Feta begins with 4.5 gallons of whole milk. It is the heated to 93°F. When the target temperature is reached add 1/4 tsp of MM100 culture and ripen for 40-60 minutes.(Note: if using pasteurized milk, also add 3 ml calcium chloride)
Note: if you would like to make a 2 gallon batch, the ingredient measurments are listed above.
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Coagulate with Rennet
Once the culture has been added and allowed to ripen for about 40-60 minutes, add a bit over 1/2 tsp, or more precisely 1/2 tsp plus another 1/8 tsp (3 ml) of single strength rennet or 1/2-3/4 tablet rennet. Dilute either rennet in 1/4 cup cool non-chlorinated water.
Stir slowly in an up and down direction for 1 minute.
The milk will begin to thicken in about 10 minutes but allow it to set for 40 minutes from the time of rennet addition.
The test for this will be to insert a clean finger into the curd and slowly lift until the curd splits. Observe the break and if it does not break clean or the whey is very milky, more rennet is needed the next time (it can not be added now). If the curd seems tough or the whey excessively clear, then less should be used next time.
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Cut & Gently Cook Curd
Cut the curd to 1/2 inch cubes over 5 minutes and slowly stir for another 20 minutes to release the whey while maintaining the original temperature. The firmness of your final cheese depends on the time stirred in whey. 20-30 minutes is right for the Feta I make here with the longer time for the richer late season milk.When the curds reach the proper dryness, allow them to settle to the bottom of the pot for 10 minutes.
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Remove the Whey
Prepare sanitized molds to receive the curds. I use our Basic Kit Mold for this and usually find that 2-3 molds will be required depending on the yield from your milk. No cloth is needed for these molds, but if using a mold with less openings you can use a draining cloth to assist the drainage.
Remove the whey down to the curd level before transferring the curds to the draining mold. Very little acid will have been produced to this point.
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Form the Cheese
Allow the curds to drain overnight keeping them at 68-72°F for this time and turning in the molds frequently for the first 2 hours. Little or no weight is needed for this cheese, depending on how open/closed you like the feta texture. Here I use about 2 lbs (aproximately 1 qt of water) It will consolidate under its own weight quite well during draining. During this time the culture will continue to produce acidity and by the next morning or afternoon the cheese should be quite firm, consolidated and the smell of acid should be apparent (pH= 4.7-4.8).
The curd mass can now be cut into smaller pieces (1/2-1 lb each) to facilitate salt absorption in brining. If you find the curds are still too moist at this point, some dry salt will help. Allow draining for another 6-12 hrs. (final pH will be 4.5-4.6)
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Salting
Now place in saturated brine for 8 hrs per 1 lb piece (4 hrs per 1/2 lb pieces).
Brine can be made by adding 2.5 lbs of non-iodized salt to 1/2 gal of water then topping up to 1 gal with water (there should be salt un-dissolved in the jar). If the brine is fresh add 1/2 tsp calcium chloride to the gallon (this will keep the brine from pulling calcium from the cheese). The brine should then be kept at 50-52°F . The brine can be filtered after use and reused.
Remove cheese blocks from brine and arrange on mats to drain. Allow assimilation of salt for 1-3 days at 48-56°F covered loosely with sanitized cloth to prevent contamination. Turn each block several times a day to encourage draining/drying. This step will dry the surface, harden the cheese and allow the brine to stabilize throughout the feta.
Failure to do this can easily result in an unstable cheese when placed in the storage brine, in which case the calcium is stripped from the curd and the surface deteriorates in a matter of days.
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Brine Storage for Feta
The brine for Feta storage is an 8% brine. Add sufficient 8% brine to cover the cheese, and ripen at 48-50°F for up to 30 days. Subsequently store at 46-42°F until consumed.
Finally prepare a storage salt brine of 6-8% (6-8 oz of salt in 3 qts of water will fill a 1 gallon jar to hold this batch), place Feta into a large container with lid and fill with the brine. Make sure the container has minimal head-space to avoid mold development. The feta can be aged in this brine for just a few weeks or up to a year or more at 45-55°F. Younger cheese will be milder in flavor.
This tends to be a high salt cheese and if the salt is too high for your taste simply soak for several hours (up to a day) in milk before using.
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