Best Homemade Feta Cheese Recipes

HOMEMADE FETA CHEESE

Steps:

• Combine 1/4 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon calcium chloride in a small bowl; mix well.
• Combine 1/4 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon rennet in another small bowl; mix well.
• Pour milk into a double boiler set over medium-low heat. Heat milk until it registers 86 degrees F (30 degrees C) on an instant-read thermometer. Sprinkle cheese culture on the surface. Allow to dissolve without stirring for a few minutes, then stir well. Cover and keep at 86 degrees F (30 degrees C) for 1 hour.
• Pour calcium chloride mixture into the milk; stir for 1 minute. Add rennet mixture; stir for 1 to 2 minutes. Let stand at room temperature until milk sets into curd, about 1 hour. Press edge of the curd gently with a palette knife or the back of a spoon to check for firmness.
• Cut curd all the way to the bottom of the pot into 1-inch squares. Stir gently with a rubber spatula. Let rest, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Stir curds, maintaining temperature at 86 degrees F (30 degrees C), until they sink to the bottom of the pot, about 20 minutes. Scoop out liquid (whey) with a ladle and discard or reserve for another use.
• Line 2 basket-style molds with damp cheesecloth. Ladle curds into the molds with a slotted spoon and cover with ends of cheesecloth. Place one mold on top of the other, pressing lightly. Let drain, switching the molds and stirring curds a few times, until cheese is firm, at least 4 hours.
• Mix 8 cups water, sea salt, 1 teaspoon calcium chloride, and white vinegar together in a large container to make brine. Submerge cheese in brine and let soak, at least 8 hours and up to 3 weeks.

HOMEMADE FETA CHEESE

Steps:

• 1. In a large pot, add milk and bring to 90° over low heat, stirring often. In another bowl, blend yogurt and 1-2 tablespoons milk together and add to large pot. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour (don't peek).
• 2. Crush rennet tablet, mix in 1/8-1/4 cup water and stir til dissolved. Add to milk and stir thoroughly. Cover and let stand overnight at room temperature or til set. Remove lid and with a knife, cut into 1/2 inch squares. With very clean hands, lift the squares from the bottom of the pan. Line a strainer with 2-3 layers of cheesecloth and add squares. Let stand over another pot and drain for 2-4 hours til the whey has drained (reserve the whey if storing in brine). Turn cheese into a bowl, sprinkle with salt and toss gently to mix. Press into a mold or bowl, cover with a clean cloth and weigh down the top. Let stand overnight. Serve as is or store in a brine.
• 3. BRINE: Mix the whey you drained and enough water to make 20 ounces. Add 5 tablespoons salt and stir to dissolve. Put cheese in a sterilized jar and cover with brine. Let stand, refrigerated, for 2 days. Rinse if cheese is too salty.

HOMEMADE FETA CHEESE

Steps:

• Sterilize all of your equipment before you begin (wash in hot soapy water, rinse well. Spray with a bleach cleanser or soak in water with bleach added, then rinse well again).
• Heat the milk slowly to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. (You will get better results if the temperature changes are always gradual.).
• Add starter culture. A pinch of lipase enzyme may be added for more flavor.
• Stir occasionally for 1 hour, holding the temperature at 90 degrees.
• If using rennet tablet, crush well. Add the rennet to the 1/4 cup of cool water and stir until well mixed (for liquid rennet) or thoroughly dissolved (for rennet tablet). Add the rennet to the milk and stir for one full minute, then do not touch for 40 minutes or until the milk has coagulated, continuing to hold it at 90 degrees. The milk is ready when a finger or thermometer inserted into the curd at a 45 degree angle will separate the curd firmly and cleanly.
• Cut the curd into 1/2 inch cubes. (Using a knife, make cuts all the way through the curd 1/2 inch apart, first in one direction, then perpendicular to the first cuts. Then, holding your knife at a 45 degree angle, do your best to make another series of 1/2 cuts. They need not be perfect - your goal is pieces of fairly uniform size.) Do not stir!
• Let rest for 10 minutes, then stir gently. Cut any large pieces in half. Continue to stir gently about every ten minutes for another 1 to 2 hours, continuing to hold at 90 degrees, until the curds have shrunk to about 1/4 their original size.
• Ladle curds and whey into Feta molds or a colander lined with coarse cheesecloth (which has been sterilized). The whey will drain out and the cheese will stay in the mold.
• Leave overnight in a cool place to drain. The cheese will shrink down.
• Take the cheese out of the mold and cut into 2-3 inch pieces.
• Using coarse salt, generously salt all sides of pieces.
• Leave at room temperature for a full day turning the pieces every once in a while.
• Place the pieces UNCOVERED, on a wooden board in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. They will continue to drain whey.
• Store your cheese in a brine solution made with 1/2 cup salt (Kosher, if possible) per 1/2 gallon of water (boiled and cooled to below room temperature), using just enough to cover the cheese. Let it age 1 to 4 weeks to develop flavor. Stored in brine in the refrigerator it will stay good for months, but the flavor will continue to get sharper.