Feta Cheese

I have been making Feta cheese now for over a year.  The flavor is wonderful but I've always wanted to get that crumble texture you get from store bought Feta.  I have finally achieved it.

 

I first start by taking 2 gallons of fresh goats milk and flash pasteurizing it.  Flash Pasteurization is heating your milk to 165 degrees and holding that temp for 15 seconds.  Then I take the whole pot and place it in my sink and fill the sink with cold water and ice cubes.

 

This will cool your milk faster.  Cool your milk to 86 degrees.

 

Milk heating up for pasteurization

 

Once your milk is at 86 degrees, add in your cultures.  I order all of my cultures from www.cheesemaking.com.

 

I add in 1 package of Direct Set Mesophilic and 1/4 tsp Lipase Powder. Let cultures rehydrate for 2 minutes and then stir in gently. Cover milk and let ripen for 1 hour.  Next add in your Rennet.  I use 1/2 tsp liquid rennet added into 1/4 c water.  Stir gently with an up and down motion.  Cover and let it sit for 1 hour.

 

Adding the rennet to the cooled milk

 

Once it has sat for the hour cut the curds into 1/2 inch cubes and then allow to set, undisturbed for 10 minutes.

 

The curds cut

 

Now comes the most work.  Hope you got some muscles.  You need to gently stir the curds consistently for 20 minutes.  I stand at the stove and put my timer on for 20 minutes and just stir away.  Believe me your arm is gonna get tired.  This is when it would be good to have a helper if you have one.

 

Curds after being stirred

 

Now that your done stirring this is where a lot of people would just hang the cheese.  This year I bought a basket mold, also from www.cheesemaking.com.

 

Pour the curds into the molds slowly and as the mold fills up you need to use the back of your hand to push the curds down and to release all the whey that is in there.  I also use a wire mesh colander to help get some of the whey out first and then pour it into the mold and push out even more whey with my hand.  As you can see from the picture below I just put a cooling rack across my sink and put the molds on it while filling.  Any excess whey just goes down the drain. You could also put a bowl underneath if you wanted to collect the whey. 

 

Feta curds in the molds

 

Once you have all your curds in the molds find something that will fit in the top of it, here I used some Tupperware covers.  This is what is called your pusher.  Place this on top of your curds in the molds and then put a quart mason jar filled with water on top of it to help weigh it down and push out even more whey.

 

For the first 2 hours you want to turn the molded curds in the mold every 15 minutes.  After the 2 hours you can turn the molded curds every now and then.  You must leave the curds in the molds with the weights on it for 10-12 hours.

 

That is why i usually start this cheese in the afternoon.  It works out great for timing to let sit overnight.

 

Feta curds being weighted down in the molds

 

The next morning take your Feta Cheese out of the molds.  Below is a picture of what it should look like.

 

Feta just out of the molds

Cut the Feta into large pieces and place in a dish with a brine mixture for 8 hours for 1lb pieces or 4 hours for 1/2lb pieces.

 

Brine mixture can be made by adding 2 cups of non-idolized salt to 1/2 gallon of water then topping up to 1 gallon with water.  Some of the salt will not dissolve, that is okay. This brine can be filtered and reused again for your next batch of Feta.

 

Feta cut up and in brine

 

Once your time is up you need to place your cut cheese pieces onto cheese mats or I just used my cooling rack again.  Cover with a piece of cheese cloth or clean fabric and place in your fridge for 2-3 days, turning your cheese pieces a few times a day.

 

After the aging period is done I just crumble up the Feta with my fingers and keep in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks.  Most of the time it doesn't last that long though.

 

Note:  I do not add any extra salt to my recipe because I add Lipase Powder instead.  Also the brine is heavily salted too.

 

If you aren't going to use your Feta right away you can store it in the fridge in an air tight container in a 6-8% brine.

 

6-8% Brine: 3/4 to 1 cup of non-idolized salt in 3 quarts of water. Make sure all the cheese is covered in the brine leaving no space.  This will help to ensure that no mold with grow on the cheese.

Feta AND it crumbles!!!

 

If for any reason your Feta is too salty for your taste you can let it soak in milk for a few days.