Feta

General Cheese making discussion

Feta

Postby Gail » Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:14 pm

I have been making feta cheese using either the Katie Thear recipe or the Fankhauser recipe but every time it is just far too salty!

The texture is right and I have made the brine with 1 pint of whey to 5 tblspoons of salt.

Where am I going wrong? Should I brine it for just a few days and then try putting it in oil?

I hope someone can help.

Gail x
Gail
Registered Member
 
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 3:10 pm
Location: Dordogne, France

Postby Spuddy » Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:17 pm

Maybe your tablespoons are larger than than 15ml (the accepted volume for 1tbsp). Try using less.
Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus.
User avatar
Spuddy
Site Admin
 
Posts: 1314
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2004 6:00 pm
Location: Angmering, West Sussex, UK.

Postby jenny_haddow » Thu Mar 29, 2007 10:32 pm

Hi Gail

Looking through different Feta recipes I notice quite a disparity in the saline solution for the brine. I think Fankhauser comes in quite high at 12.5%, the lowest I've seen is 7%. One quotes the equivalent of 2 tblsp to a pint of whey, which sounds more reasonable.

So maybe a combination of cutting the salt and reducing the brining time is the answer.

Hope this helps

Jen
User avatar
jenny_haddow
Registered Member
 
Posts: 1331
Joined: Thu Mar 30, 2006 7:54 am
Location: Cambridgeshire and France

Postby BlueCheese » Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:21 am

its very possable that its your cheese, if it is not "dense" and instead a bit spongy, then it will absorb the salt ( I had that). next time take measurments of the cheese and see if it swells. maybe press it longer/harder and let it machoor a bit before putting in the brine, salt the outer layer, or dip it on the brine, and let it settle for a couple of days. Just a thought :idea:
<a href="http://www3.telus.net/public/hsource/cheesemaking/">The Cheese Hole</a>
User avatar
BlueCheese
Registered Member
 
Posts: 288
Joined: Fri Nov 03, 2006 10:16 pm
Location: Canada,AB

Postby Gail » Fri Mar 30, 2007 7:54 pm

I have been experimenting over the past few days and think I have found a recipe I like.

I pressed the curds lightly for 3 hours in a lined collander then turned them into a fresh muslin and re-pressed for another couple of hours.

I then turned the curds out and cut into largish 2"ish chunks and salted them and put them on cheese mats to drain for 24 hours.

I turned them and resalted if they felt wet and left for another 8 hours.

I made up the brine with 10 level dessertspoons per litre of whey.

I washed the salt off the curds and then put them in the jars with the cooled brine.

The curds were very dry and had a nice salty taste but not too salty so that it takes the skin off your mouth.

They are in the fridge now and I will let you know how they are in a couple of weeks.

I think the recipe with 5 heaped tablespoons per pint is far too strong.

It's all trial and error and matter of personal taste isnt it?

Thanks for your replies.

Gail
Gail
Registered Member
 
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 3:10 pm
Location: Dordogne, France


Return to Cheese Chat

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests