Super Easy Feta Cheese
Years ago when I had goats and an abundance of goat milk I loved making cheese. There are a lot of basic cheeses that can easily be made at home.
Feta cheese is a soft cheese. You don't need a cheese press for this. Anyone can make this right in their own kitchen. It is very easy to do.
You need to purchase cheese cultures and I give a link in the post below for this.
This is a recipe that was given to me by a friend (thank you Cheryl!). It looked so easy to make that I thought it was to much to believe. So of course I had to make it!
It turned out great!! I took pictures of the process so that if it did turn out I could show you just how easy cheese making can be!! I buy my cheese cultures and my cheese salt from Leeners http://leeners.com/ This is a great company to do business with.
Here is the recipe:
Super Easy Feta Cheese
1 gallon goats milk (any milk would work, I used raw goats milk)
¼ c cultured buttermilk- this must be real cultured buttermilk or 1/8 t. Mesophilic A culture (I use direct set cultures that I buy from Leeners and that is what the pictures show)
¼ c water
20 drops vegetable rennet
Also:
Salt (cheese salt works best)
herbs, dried or fresh, your choice (dill, basil, oregano, chives, thyme)
Olive oil
Start with 1 gallon of milk
Heat the milk to 86 degrees for goats milk or 88 degrees for cows milk..
Add the buttermilk or Mesophilic A culture and stir.
Into the ¼ cup of water add 20 drops of vegetable rennet and stir. Add this to the milk and stir.
Let this sit for 2 hours. If my kitchen is not that warm I try and keep the cheese warm for these 2 hours. I do this by putting about 86/88 degree water in a larger pot and sitting my milk inside that pot on the counter for the 2 hours. After 2 hours the milk should be gelled. Stir slowly and carefully to break up the curds. Let this sit for another 30 minutes or so to help the curds contract.
Drain this for 8 to 10 hours (overnight is handy). Below you will see pics of how I do this. I use an old pillow case (works better than cheesecloth) that I have washed and bleached and shoestrings that have been washed and bleached to hang my cheese.
Here it is after 8 hours. You can see the bag of cheese is much smaller and there is much more whey in the bowl
Here is what was in the bag:
cut the cheese into chunks.
Layer pieces of cheese, salt and herbs in a quart jar.
View from the top:
Cover with olive oil making sure no cheese is above the level of the oil.
Turn jar several times a day. This is ready to eat in 3 days.
Feta cheese is a soft cheese. You don't need a cheese press for this. Anyone can make this right in their own kitchen. It is very easy to do.
You need to purchase cheese cultures and I give a link in the post below for this.
This is a recipe that was given to me by a friend (thank you Cheryl!). It looked so easy to make that I thought it was to much to believe. So of course I had to make it!
It turned out great!! I took pictures of the process so that if it did turn out I could show you just how easy cheese making can be!! I buy my cheese cultures and my cheese salt from Leeners http://leeners.com/ This is a great company to do business with.
Here is the recipe:
Super Easy Feta Cheese
1 gallon goats milk (any milk would work, I used raw goats milk)
¼ c cultured buttermilk- this must be real cultured buttermilk or 1/8 t. Mesophilic A culture (I use direct set cultures that I buy from Leeners and that is what the pictures show)
¼ c water
20 drops vegetable rennet
Also:
Salt (cheese salt works best)
herbs, dried or fresh, your choice (dill, basil, oregano, chives, thyme)
Olive oil
Start with 1 gallon of milk
Heat the milk to 86 degrees for goats milk or 88 degrees for cows milk..
Add the buttermilk or Mesophilic A culture and stir.
Into the ¼ cup of water add 20 drops of vegetable rennet and stir. Add this to the milk and stir.
Let this sit for 2 hours. If my kitchen is not that warm I try and keep the cheese warm for these 2 hours. I do this by putting about 86/88 degree water in a larger pot and sitting my milk inside that pot on the counter for the 2 hours. After 2 hours the milk should be gelled. Stir slowly and carefully to break up the curds. Let this sit for another 30 minutes or so to help the curds contract.
Drain this for 8 to 10 hours (overnight is handy). Below you will see pics of how I do this. I use an old pillow case (works better than cheesecloth) that I have washed and bleached and shoestrings that have been washed and bleached to hang my cheese.
Here it is after 8 hours. You can see the bag of cheese is much smaller and there is much more whey in the bowl
Here is what was in the bag:
cut the cheese into chunks.
Layer pieces of cheese, salt and herbs in a quart jar.
View from the top:
Cover with olive oil making sure no cheese is above the level of the oil.
Turn jar several times a day. This is ready to eat in 3 days.
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