Feta

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In Greek cuisine, Feta (φέτα) is a curd cheese in brine. It is traditionally made from goat's and/or sheep's milk although cow's milk may be substituted. It is an aged cheese, commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. It is used as a table cheese, as well as in salads, pastries and in baking (although still edible on its own). It is used on Bruschetta, an Italian appetizer. It is used in the popular Greek phyllo-based dishes spanakopita ("spinach pie") and tyropita ("cheese pie"). Feta is a popular cheese world-wide. Similar cheeses are found in the countries which surround Greece.

Feta is salted and cured in a brine solution (which can be either water or whey) for several months. Feta dries out rapidly when removed from the brine. Feta cheese is white, usually formed into square cakes, and can range from soft to semi-hard, with a tangy, salty flavor that can range from mild to sharp. The cured cheese easily crumbles apart. Its fat content can range from 30 to 60 percent; most is around 45 percent milk fat. Most feta cheese has a pH of 4.4 to 4.9.

Feta is also an important ingredient of Greek salad. Feta, like most cheeses, can also be served cooked; it is sometimes grilled as part of a sandwich or as a salty alternative to other cheeses in a variety of dishes.

History

Feta cheese is first recorded in the Byzantine Empire, under the name πρόσφατος (prósphatos, "recent", i.e. fresh), and was associated specifically with Crete. An Italian visitor to Candia in 1494 describes its storage in brine clearly.

The Greek word "feta" comes from the Italian word fetta ("slice") and that from Latin offa "bite, morsel". It was introduced in Greek in the 17th century, likely referring to the method of cutting the cheese in thin slices to serve on a plate.

Traditionally, feta has been made by peasants in the lower Balkan peninsula from sheep's milk, although goat's milk, and (to the dismay of some) cow's milk has been used in more recent times. It is also used for banitsa.

Certification

After a long legal battle with Denmark, which produced a similar cheese under the same name, but used artificially blanched cow's milk, the term "feta" is now a protected designation of origin (PDO), which limits the term within the European Union to Greek feta. When needed to describe a feta-like cheese that isn't Greek feta, names such as "salad cheese" and "Greek-style cheese" are used.

Similar cheeses around the world

Similar cheeses are common in Albania (djath), Bulgaria (sirene сирене), the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (бело сирење, belo sirenje; white cheese), Serbia (sir сир), Israel, Turkey (beyaz peynir 'white cheese'), Egypt, and Sudan (gibna bayda), Romania (brânză telemea), Russia (brynza, брынза), Ukraine (brynza, бринза), Iran (panir liqvan), Malta (Ġbejna tan- nagħaġ) , and other countries. In some of these countries, the name "feta" is used interchangeably with the native, while in others "feta" is not used at all or refers to other (mainly imported) types of cheese.

Bibliography

Andrew Dalby, Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece, Routledge, 1996. ISBN 0-415-11620-1.

References

External links

Feta registered as Protected Designation of Origin
Fetamania - Feta's history, production and conservation methods, and recipes
A feta cheese recipe by David B. Fankhauser, PhD - University of Cincinnati Clermont College
Truth, Lies and Feta by Ellen Gooch, editor-in-chief, Epikouria Magazine

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Last updated on Sunday March 09, 2008 at 18:38:49 PDT (GMT -0700)
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