I came back
from a two-week vacation to Greece with one lingering thought on my mind – how soon
I could get my hands on a decent supply of feta. If you have ever visited Greece
you will know that this pristine white national treasure appears on every taverna
menu, drizzled with olive oil, or generously heaped on horiatiki salata (Greek
salad). I ate it twice a day or more and never tired of the tanginess and flavors
of olive and ocean in every gorgeous bite.
Feta
cheese is most closely associated with Greece, but other countries in the
region, Bulgaria and France in particular, have delicious versions of their
own. French feta is milder, and Bulgarian feta packs a bigger punch. Feta has
become so popular around the world that the majority of what we consume is
industrially made. Small-batch artisan versions can still be found in the
country (and likely not much beyond the village) of origin.
Feta
tastes best to me when made with sheep’s milk, though there are plenty of tasty
cow and goat’s milk versions are out there. The fresh milk is left to curdle
with rennet and a starter culture, and the curds are then ladled into molds
lined with cheesecloth. After a few weeks of draining and salting, they are
firm enough to cut into blocks, and are submerged into a brine or salted whey
solution to cure and age for a month or more. Think of feta like a pickled
cheese!
Feta has
a long shelf life for a fresh cheese, so I usually buy a block from the
supermarket without worrying too much about when I might get around to eating
it. I’m also a fan of the feta cubes suspended in olive oil and dried herbs – they make
a great snack or easy hors d’oeuvre, and the leftover oil tastes good drizzled over
salad. However you like your feta, be sure to revisit it often this summer. Then throw on your bouzouki CD and break open the retsina,
and welcome to my big fat Greek vacation.