The upcoming Feta Cheese problem

Morning Glory said:
I took a virtual feta trip through Walmart (not completely comprehensive). Far as I can see there are no authentic Greek feta cheeses sold. They are all made in the US and as far as I can see not made from goats milk or sheeps milk.
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In Maidstone, there are at least 3 or 4 Polish/Bulgarian/East European grocery shops. (Discovered this when I was there in 2022-23). London also has plenty. Merely by chance, I found some Bulgarian feta one day and bought some on impulse. It was in a rectangular plastic pot, covered with brine. The very best feta I had tasted for decades.
In Caracas, there are two or three feta cheeses available, but they're made from cow's milk or buffalo milk. They definitely lack the acidity of sheep's/ goat's milk, but they'll do.
 
TastyReuben said:
My feta was “Proudly made in Wisconsin!”
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I found this post amusing. I think SandwichShortOfAPicnic did as well. My UK sense of irony...

But I have been put right. :ohmy: Wisconsin I have learned, is a very serious cheese making region in the US. And they are rightly proud of their cheeses.
 
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Morning Glory said:
I found this post amusing and I think @SandwichShortOfAPicnic did as well. My UK sense of irony...

But I have been put right. :ohmy: Wisconsin I have learned, is a very serious cheese making region in the US. And they are rightly proud of their cheeses.
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I lived there for about 4 months when I had my "mid-life crisis" in my 20s, and visited cheese shops, and they really do cheese right over there. It's so good. I got this farmers' cheese that was really thick, like a disc (think of a hockey puck), and you gently cook it in a nonstick skillet with some butter until it softens and starts to get "melty" and lose its shape, and the outside gets nice and golden brown (think look and texture of grilled cheese bread). It. was. amazing.
 
Puggles said:
I lived there for about 4 months when I had my "mid-life crisis" in my 20s, and visited cheese shops, and they really do cheese right over there. It's so good. I got this farmers' cheese that was really thick, like a disc (think of a hockey puck), and you gently cook it in a nonstick skillet with some butter until it softens and starts to get "melty" and lose its shape, and the outside gets nice and golden brown (think look and texture of grilled cheese bread). It. was. amazing.
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Sounds wonderful.
 
Morning Glory said:
But I have been put right. :ohmy: Wisconsin I have learned, is a very serious cheese making region in the US. And they are rightly proud of their cheeses.
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It is. There are several cheese makers that went over there from Europe and set up shop. BelGioioso does pretty ok Asiago and aged Provolone - for this side of the pond at least. I used to get those at Sam's in large 2-4lb/1-2kg pieces along with large pieces of feta by President but no more - only shaved and crumbled - I don't do those as they dont keep.

All cows milk plus a bit of goat chevre.

President Feta is pretty passable everyday feta from cows milk. I had some really flat feta a while back that a friend bought at a froufrou cheesy place in Tucson. Israeli feta, I think it was, and no flavour or sharpness to speak of, which I found very surprising.
 
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Z-Cook said:
It is. There are several cheese makers that went over there from Europe and set up shop. Bel Giosiso does pretty ok Asiago and aged Provolone - for this side of the pond at least. I used to get those at Sam's in large 2-4lb/1-2kg pieces along with large pieces of feta by President but no more - only shaved and crumbled - I don't do those as they dont keep.

All cows milk plus a bit of goat chevre.

President Feta is pretty passable everyday feta from cows milk. I had some really flat feta a while back that a friend bought at a froufrou cheesy place in Tucson. Israeli feta, I think it was, and no flavour or sharpness to speak of, which I found very surprising.
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Learned a new word today thank you, froufrou. 👍
 
I did a little investigation, because I'm a serious cheese fanatic.
Feta is originally Greek, and originally made from sheep's and/or goat's milk. Its cured in brine. The acidic, salty flavour comes from those two things.
I remember buying it from stores in Mykonos, when I was once in Greece on holiday, and they'd take a chunk out of a bucket full of liquid (which was evidently brine) and say "how much do you want?", then hack a piece off.
I expect feta cheese to be sharp, acidic, salty and a bit creamy - because it's basically a soft, white cheese.
Cow's milk feta doesn't really work for me. It's far too creamy; it needs the natural acidity of sheep/goat milk.
 
karadekoolaid said:
because I'm a serious cheese fanatic.
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Same😅
It's a food group

karadekoolaid said:
I expect feta cheese to be sharp, acidic, salty and a bit creamy - because it's basically a soft, white cheese.,
Cow's milk feta doesn't really work for me. It's far too creamy; it needs the natural acidity of sheep/goat milk.
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Not sure that goat or sheep's milk is actually more acidic than cows milk, but an interesting factoid is that while goat and cow's milk have fairly similar fat/carb/protein content, sheep milk is almost twice those, which may explain some of the differences.

I generally find proper sheep's milk feta denser (like some people we all know😅) and more solid than cows milk feta, but have to say President feta - and they're a European (French) cheesemaker, doing European style cheese for Americans (quite different sometimes) - is acceptably sharp, pretty solid but crumbly, not that creamy at all. It's ok.
Their brie is a slightly different story 😁
 
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