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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

Maybe your tablespoons are larger than than 15ml (the accepted volume for 1tbsp). Try using less.

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

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

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