Feta, Greece's most popular cheese, is an aged white crumbly cheese made from sheep's milk or a mix of sheep's and goat's milk. Feta can also be made from cow's milk if a special culture is added to the milk to give it the characteristic sheep's milk flavor. Feta, a rather simple white brined cheese, has been made in Greece for thousands of years, but wasn't named "Feta" until the 1700s. Feta means "slice" in Italian, and was named so because the cheese was traditionally sliced before it was placed in barrels for aging.
How Feta Is Made
Feta is made by forming the curd into large rounds or blocks, then draining off the whey. The Feta is then salted and stored in barrels for curing and preservation. Feta is stored in a brine solution which gives it its characteristic tangy flavor and texture, while helping the cheese retain its moisture. As feta ages, its flavor becomes sharper and saltier. The Feta Cheese develops small holes in its form and no rind due to the constant brining.
Serving Feta
Feta is mostly crumbled in salads in the US, but is consumed as table cheese in Mediterranean regions, often drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Feta is a versatile cheese, as it melts well and can even be fried. Similar white brined cheeses are produced to imitate Feta but are prohibited by law in the EU from using the Feta name. These copycats may be called "salad cheese" or "Greek-style cheese".
Feta Cheese PDO
In 2002, Feta was given PDO status or "protected designation of origin" status in the European Union. This designation maintains that feta can only be made in a traditional way within certain areas of Greece with milk from the sheep or goats from the local area.
Our Feta Cheese selection includes Sheep's Milk Feta imported from Greece, France, and Bulgaria. When searching for Feta online, look no further than igourmet.com.