A crumbly white cheese made from sheep’s or goat’s milk.
Most feta you'll come across is Greek: briny and tangy, perfect for crumbling over salads, soups, or vegetables. But there's a world of feta out there, each with its unique characteristics. Good cheese shops offer a variety of types, distinguished by origin, milk type, and packaging.
Bulgarian feta is firm and salty, ideal for simple preparations with olive oil, salt, and pepper. French feta is mild and creamy, perfect for whipping and pairing with roasted vegetables or crusty bread. Each type brings its own flavour profile.
Everything’s better with feta. It’s a crumbly, white cheese made from sheep or goat milk that should be in everyone's fridge. You can trickle it with olive oil; tuck it into a salad in jagged chunks; or marinate in spicy oil. Crumble it, bake it, blitz it, stuff with it, whatever you wish. Just make sure to showcase it.
There has been some serious drama recently and the Greeks aren’t happy. Since Homer’s Odyssey and Aristotle, Greeks have been the exclusive makers and merchants of Feta. But now, it seems others are trying to jump on this salty, tangy train. In 2022, the EU’s highest court went as far as to announce that Denmark would be breaking the law if it continued to produce and sell their fraudulent ‘feta’. It was the biggest faux pas’ in fromage. However, peace has been restored and Greece’s ownership of feta has been certified. Yia mas!
Feta is one of the most versatile cheeses out there. It can be marinated, loaded on toast or whizzed into a dip. Feta is our go-to cheese. Sorry Hallumi, but there is something about that feta-tang that we can’t seem to get enough of.
Let’s take it back to basics. When making a fresh salad, cheese adds a rich, creamy texture and a salty or nutty taste depending on the type of cheese you use. Feta adds something even better. The tang-factor. The Greeks have been using feta to garnish salads since Hercules.
Marinating allows the feta to absorb the aromatics and herbs. Keeping a jar of marinated feta in the fridge can be useful for any time of day: on toast for breakfast, for dinner with a baked potato or a pre-bed snack. It can be kept in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.
“Chef, what is your favourite feta-focused recipe?”
According to Jake, “Katja has an absolute Feta-ish”. Her favourite way with feta is in a Turkish-style breakfast: spicy Turkish sausage, cucumber, honey and lots of feta.
