Creamy cheese of Greek origin, feta (or feta) is traditionally produced from sheep’s milk or goat’s milk. It’s very sweet and more or less salty taste makes it a versatile ingredient to favor in the menus of sunny days.
Choose it well
“Feta” means slice in Greek. Moreover, most often, it is in the form that you will find this soft curd cheese, to cut into cubes or to incorporate into your recipes. Depending on the length of ripening in a brine bath between two and three months, the feta keeps its more or less salty taste and its consistency varies from mild to semi-hard. Two tips for gourmets: avoid too salty or too dry feta.
Good to know: the authentic feta of Greek origin is distinguished by an exclusive composition of sheep’s or goat’s milk and is now protected by a PDO (protected designation of origin). The Sheep milk feta cheese is now easily available to you.
Cook it well
- From the aperitif, the feta turns into an appetizer or inventive verrines.
- As a starter, it is the star of very fresh Greek salads with tomatoes, basil, cucumber, olives, peppers and onions. Feta also enjoys the company of nuts, baby spinach and asparagus as a hodgepodge.
- This creamy cheese is also an excellent ingredient for making hot starters because it easily melts: taste it just passed under the grill with fresh thyme, Espelette pepper and olive oil; cook it in mini cakes with peppers or in casserole eggs; crumble it on your pies or pizzas before baking!
- You can also melt your feta to garnish a soup or to make a sauce that will give flavor to your potatoes. For a tapas evening, feast on crab and feta bricks and mini pepper cakes.
The + nutrition
- Feta is certainly not a lean cheese since it has between 30 and 60% fat content. That’s why the tomato company suits him so well. It is naturally rich in protein, vitamin A and calcium.
- Sheep cheese is well known to gourmets and greatly appreciated in recent years. Fine connoisseurs detect a delicate almond flavor and its slightly tart note characterizes it.
A big choice
The flavors of sheep cheese range from mild to strong. Its consistency varies just as much, ranging from cream cheese to hard cheese. In addition, blues such as Roquefort are also part of the sheep cheese category.
Typical sheep cheeses
- Pecorino
- Roquefort (as Papillon )
- Brebiou
- Feta made from sheep’s milk
Did you know?
Greek feta is produced with pure sheep’s milk or with a mixture of sheep’s milk. The main characteristic is the type of production, in particular the brine bath.
Use
Sheep cheese is eaten pure, on bread or in salads, but it is also an exquisite ingredient in cooking. Because of its fat content, it can also be used very well in gratins. Its delicate taste gives the sauces a very special flavor.