C H E E S E   A N T H O L O G Y

Feta

By Edward Behr

 

 

appellation: Protected Designation of Origin (PDO)

place: Macedonia, Epirus, Thrace, Thessaly, central mainland, the Peloponnese, and the island of Lesbos, Greece

milk: ewe (no breeds specified, but indigenous ones), pure or with up to 30 percent goat’s milk, pasteurized

type: acidic, moist, brined, soft to semi-hard

shape and size: round or rectangular, cut in highly variable pieces

production: some 450 producers, from artisanal to industrial; a total of about 120,000 metric tonnes each year

related cheeses: so many — Beyaz Peynir from Turkey, Domiati from Egypt, Halloumi from Cyprus (originally), Sirene from Bulgaria and other countries, Sjenica from Serbia, Telemea from Greece and Romania, Touloumisio from Greece, and other brined cheeses from Balkan and Eastern Mediterranean countries, though some are now partly or wholly cow’s-milk

look for: artisanal cheese made in small Greek dairies (such as the mild, pleasing all-sheep Tastanis Feta from Lesbos, imported by Essex Cheese — Borough Cheese Co. sells it at markets in London); if you prefer more flavor, select cheese that contains some goat’s milk as well as ewe’s and has been aged for several months, preferably in wooden barrels (in the US, the large-scale brands Mt. Vikos and Dodoni offer a barrel-aged option)

taste: Feta is appealingly salty and acidic with a richness and intensity anywhere from relatively mild to strong with a sharp, peppery bite. In well-made Feta, the salt and acidity, rather than being aggressive, make way for dairy richness and flavor, of which the sheep component can be so subtle as to be arguable. The cheese is most distinctive and interesting when it includes a noticeable but not high-flavored animal side and a touch of pepper.

drinks: None especially, with the cheese on its own, but with a Greek greens-and-feta pie, for instance, experiment with a white or rosé, without oak, from one of the Greek varieties, wines that are somewhat widely available in export.

 

Feta, rich from ewe’s milk, is the most famous in the ancient category of brined cheeses. The practice of brining cheeses was mentioned by the Roman agriculturist Cato in the 2nd century BCE, but it’s probably much older than that. In a warm climate, brined cheeses neither spoil nor dry out, and they’re simple to make. Although the brine is now always added, a cheese sprinkled with dry salt will naturally form its own brine as whey is drawn out, so the idea is all but inevitable. Brined cheeses are traditional in at least 15 Balkan and Eastern Mediterranean countries, and in Greece about half the cheese eaten is Feta — roughly 60,000 tonnes. (The country has one of the highest per capita consumptions of cheese, in some years the highest, vying with France, Iceland, and Denmark.) For a long time, most Greek Feta has been made from pasteurized milk in industrial plants, and other countries have made vast amounts of related cheese from cow’s milk. By the 1990s, much of the world treated the name Feta as generic and applied it to that much cheaper cow’s-milk cheese. Then in 1996, the European Union awarded Greek Feta a PDO, an action that was contested particularly by Germany and Denmark but confirmed in a 2002 decision. Within the EU, cheese labeled Feta must have been made in Greece and only from ewe’s milk with, optionally, up to 30 percent goat’s. Yet most of the world’s “feta” continues to be made in non-EU countries from cow’s milk that is first highly concentrated through ultrafiltration. That base material is mixed with starter, rennet, and salt, and the entire “cheesemaking” can take place inside the final packaging, with the cheese ready for sale in little more than a week. Although industrial “white cheese” may have the typical salt and acidity, its texture is smoother and its flavor bears no comparison.

Most of the Greek regions that produce Feta are mountainous yet hot and dry, not right for cattle but good for sheep and goats. Some 100,000 Greek farms raise sheep, primarily for milk, nearly all of which is made into cheese. Indigenous breeds dominate (though few of the sheep are pure-bred and, as in so many parts of the world, some breeds are endangered and others have been lost). Ewe’s milk is high in protein and even higher in fat, having about twice as much fat as cow’s milk. The milk is fattest in winter, when the figure can rise to 8 percent, which for industrial Feta is standardized to around 6 percent.

The Balkans, lying next to Asia Minor and close to North Africa, have the richest flora in Europe, some 6,000 species. Among the plants found in the pastures that produce Feta, Anastasios Aktypis of the Agricultural University of Athens names thyme (Thymus sibthorpii), oregano (Origanum vulgare), rosemary, various species of mint, and mountain tea (Sideritis scardica). Their antioxidant essential oils are believed to contribute flavor to Feta and are credited with helping to preserve it. Aktypis explains that the sheep typically graze for six to eight hours a day, with a supplement of hay and concentrated feed during “the first three months of lactation” in winter.

When Feta used to be made with raw milk, cheesemakers relied on naturally occurring microflora, but now that Greek regulations require the milk to be pasteurized, a commercial starter must be added. The rennet used to be all homemade, from unweaned lambs or kids, and it naturally contained the enzyme lipase, which breaks down fats, giving Feta part of its traditional character. (Some lipase also comes directly from the milk.) Most small-scale and artisanal dairies still use traditional rennet, and, Aktypis says, in recent years certified producers of traditional rennet have been established in several regions of Greece. But large-scale operations use commercial rennet for greater control, particularly of ripening, while some dairies use both traditional and commercial rennet.

In the typical small-scale process, not that it ever was or is fixed, the curd forms in less than an hour and is cut into two- to three-centimeter (roughly one-inch) cubes, which are transferred to molds. There the cheeses drain for two to three hours, then the molds, fitted with lids, are turned, and the cheeses drain for two to three hours more. (The whey makes cheeses such as Mizithra, Anthotyros, and Manouri.) Because Feta isn’t pressed, except perhaps with the hands or light weights, the finished cheese retains small irregular openings.

Next the cheeses, taken from the molds, are sliced and dry-salted for one to three days. (The name feta is said to mean “slice,” from the Italian fetta; it may date from the 17th century, when the Venetian Empire extended to parts of Greece; yet that name became common only in the 20th century.) The slices are layered in plastic or stainless-steel containers or, traditionally and sometimes still, in wooden barrels. (Before barrels, possibly for 2,000 years or more, the brining took place in skins.) Enough brine is added to immerse the cheese, and the moist, saline environment encourages the lipase. That leads to rancid, gamy notes and pepperiness, which are stronger with goat’s milk. Usually from this point, the cheese matures at a chill 3 to 4 degrees C (37 to 39 degrees F) for at least the PDO minimum of two months. Industrial plants use an automated, somewhat simplified version of the process, not working batch by batch but using a continuous production line.

Connoisseurs seek out Feta from artisanal producers; its taste reflects less control and more influence from season, locality, and choice of methods. Ripe Feta has no rind, is about half water, and normally contains a little under 3 percent salt, which is about the same as seawater. Younger Feta is milder and softer; over time the cheese becomes more brittle, easier to crumble. Because the natural season for ewe’s milk is only from December to June, peaking in April, the Feta available during the last part of the year is steadily older. Like other, related white cheeses, Feta can have a driving edge of acidity and salt, coupled with strong flavor and pepperiness, but usually those are appetizingly restrained. Feta is omnipresent in Greek salads, because its savoriness sets off the sweetness of raw vegetables. Another key use in Greece is with greens in savory pies. In contrast with industrial imitations, the real thing is richer and deeper, more animal, usually stronger, and sometimes peppery.●

Print Friendly, PDF & Email