Feta Cheese Recipe (Raw)

One of the other cheeses I make that people just seem to go crazy over is feta. This is another cheese I don't have to age and it is super easy to make. The only hard part is keeping all of us out of it while it is brining on the counter! When I trade cheese for eggs or what have you, most people pick my feta cheese over the queso fresco. I give this to my hair dresser in lieu of a tip and she always brags to the other hair dresser that she got the best tip of the day :). We use this cheese in our scrambled eggs, breakfast hash, tacos, quesadillas, omelets, burgers and of course our salads or just as a snack all by itself. It is nice because it is already cut up and I just throw a handful into whatever I'm making. This recipe is for approximately 4 lbs, using 4 gallons of milk. You can reduce it down if you'd like. It freezes really well, so why not make a lot? You can use goat or cow's milk for this recipe.

Raw Feta Cheese Recipe:
1. Heat 4 gallons of milk to 86 degrees F for a moist cheese, 90 degrees F for a drier cheese (can use skim milk if desired, but it will make less, also eating the cream with the raw milk is better for you) Add 1/4 tsp direct set mesophilic starter or 8 oz prepared mesophilic starter. Cover and allow milk to ripen for 1 hour.

2. In 1/4 cup of unchlorinated water, add 1 tsp liquid rennet or 1 rennet tablet. Stir. Add the rennet/water solution to milk and gently stir with an up and down motion for a minute. Cover and set at 86 degrees for 1 hour.

3. Cut the curd into 1/2 cubes. Set undisturbed for 10 minutes. (The picture above was taken just after I cut the curd)

4. Gently stir curds for 20 minutes.















5. Drain as much whey as you can, (You can see the three full jars of whey in the background - save it for other uses) until you can pour or scoop curds into a cheese cloth-lined colander. Tie the corners of the cheesecloth into a knot and hang bag over cheese pot. Let drain for 4 to 6 hours. (I use a Pampered Chef barbecue basting brush to hang my cheese on. Use whatever works for you. If you are doing less than 4 lbs, you can get away with just pouring the curds and whey directly into the cheese cloth-lined colander.)

6. Untie bag and cut curds into 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes. Lay out in non-metallic pans (I use stoneware, can also use glass), then sprinkle with with salt to taste. I use coarse-ground Celtic Sea Salt.

7. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours, At about 12 hours, pour off the whey, stir cheese around a bit and add more salt if needed. After 24 hours, put in fridge or freeze.