Make Super Easy Feta Cheese: With Pictures!

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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 70 degrees (about room temp. I am not sure you have to do that, but felt room temp would be better than cold 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. After 2 hours, stir slowly and carefully to break up the curds.



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.


Comments

  1. KittyJuly 28, 2006 at 1:23 PM

    That cheese looks fantastic!

    I just wanted to let you know I have been making lemonaid for my dh for years using fresh squeezed lemons everyday. Well after reading your blog and having some lemon juice in my pantry, I decided to try it. I made it and didn't tell my dh anything. During supper he asked me what I was doing different to his lemonaid. I asked him why. He said it was so good. I told him what I had done and he loved it.

    This is soooo much easier. Thanks for posting the idea.

    Kitty

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJuly 28, 2006 at 3:02 PM

    I absolutely *love* this. I have a couple of questions if you don't mind. : ) When you say "any milk" does that mean even regular dairy milk in the gallons at the store? Do you purchase the vegetable rennet from Leeners too? We like it plain, are the herbs necessary? About how much salt would you say you use? Does it have to be packed in olive oil or can it be stored in a little of the whey (I think that's how they sell it at a local store)? Do you have to wait 3 days for it to be safe to eat? And lastly, I promise, how long does it keep (in the fridge I suppose?)?


    Thank you *so* much for posting this. Your blog was one of the ones that inspired me to make my own laundry detergent and I'm so grateful.


    Thanks again,

    Michelle, http://glorious-mayhem.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. southernbelleJuly 28, 2006 at 3:16 PM

    Oooh that cheese looks so good! I wish I was in your kitchen! : )

    ReplyDelete
  4. RachelJuly 29, 2006 at 2:07 AM

    ?? This recipe looks so easy but we just eat common cheeses. Thanks :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. SusanAugust 4, 2006 at 7:23 AM

    I've been wanting to try my hand at cheese making for quite a while! This looks really simple, I'll have to give it a try soon!

    ReplyDelete

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