Three Soft White Cheeses in Brine

I love Feta cheese crumbled over salad greens.  A large selection of Fetas and similar cheeses was in the refrigerated showcase when I recently visited a shop called "Phoenicia." My curiosity compelled me to check them out so I selected three to compare. I brought them home and did a taste test.

The picture shows the three cheeses I selected. The cheese in the blue dish was about $16 per pound and was called a "Goat Feta." It is the most pungent of the three. The middle cheese was called a "French Feta" and it had a slightly fruity, mild taste. The cheese in the last dish was called "Akawi" and was quite mild and reminiscent of cottage cheese.


The designation of the cheeses as Feta is a bit confusing. Some people only consider Feta to be Greek cheese made with sheep's milk or sheep and up to 30% goat's milk. Although the "French Feta" was made of sheep's milk, it was not Greek. After feuding over the Feta designation in 2005, the European Union designated Feta cheese as being made in Greece. There are many soft, white cheeses made in other countries that are reminiscent of Feta. For example Bulgaria has Sirene cheese and Turkey has Teleme cheese.


Some Fetas are creamy and others are brittle depending on the amount of goat's milk and the type of bacteria culture added. Curing methods can also create variation. Feta is never made from cows' milk.


Feta has been made by shepards and goat herders for thousands of years. The milk is pasteurized at about 71 degrees Celsius which is considered low-temperature pasteurization so that proteins are not denatured and lactose is left in tact. The milk is cooled to between 33 and 35 degrees Celsius and placed in vats so that the curd forms. The cheese maker's special bacterial culture blend is added and allowed to rest for about 30 minutes. The special blend gives each cheese maker's Feta a unique flavor. After the 30 minutes, animal rennet is added and the contents of the vat are stirred for about 5 minutes, then allowed to coagulate over about a 45 minute period. The judgement of the cheese maker determines the exact amount of time for coagulation. The curd is then cut into cubes of about 3-4 cm. and after resting for about 35-40 minutes it is transferred into large steel perforated molds. The molds are placed on draining tables where the whey drains away. Salt is put into a wooden barrel and the cheese is transferred to the barrel and allowed to age in brine between about four to twelve months. The longer the cheese is aged, the tangier the flavor becomes. More details can be found at Epikouria.

The "Feta" made of goat cheese was soaking in brine when sold. It was the smoothest of the three cheeses I bought and I loved the flavor. I have loved goat's cheese for a long time. When I was a teenager, I used to ask my mother to buy Gjetost, a caramel-colored Scandinavian goat's cheese. It had a similar "musky" taste. I would eat it with apple slices and I was in heaven! The taste of this cheese was reminiscent of Gejtost, but saltier and softer in texture. 

The sheep's milk cheese from France had the crumbliest, dryest texture. It was quite salty, and I guess according to the definition of Feta as being from Greece, it was not really Feta. The taste was much milder than that of the goat's cheese and could be overpowered in some recipes. However, it would be quite pleasant eaten as slices with some olive oil and maybe olives or fruit. There was actually a subtle fruity flavor to the cheese.

Akawi cheese is from the area around the city of Acre, Israel. The cheese originated with Palestinian Arabs and is made with cow's milk. It is quite smooth and creamy and has such a mild flavor that it could easily be overpowered by other ingredients. It makes a good companion to fruit such as apple slices. 
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