Saturday 26 June 2010

Forging Fromage - Feta


I'm back, did you miss me? Well, sort of back. I'm still on the spare computer and it has Paint, not Photoshop, which is very frustrating and I don't know how to use it properly so I don't know how much blogging I will be able to bear!

But I had a good incentive for persevering with Paint! The current Forging Fromage challenge is a two-fold one: feta this month and gouda next month, and I was very keen to show you the first half of my endeavours.

Our local supermarket sells goats milk reasonably cheaply, so I was able to make my cheese with all goats milk. I made a half-quantity, but that was enough feta for 3 meals.

I used a jellybag to drain the curds, and it has a seam down the centre, hence the brain shape of my feta!
I found this one really very straightforward. It came together very easily and looked exactly right at every stage.

I jumped the gun a bit - we ate the first half of the cheese a day early because I just couldn't resist. We had it in a Greek-ish salad of cucumber, tomato, avocado and red onion, dressed with oregano, basil, olive oil and white wine vinegar. It was delicious! Not too salty, not mushy, not too crumbly, with just the right hint of goaty tang.


The rest of the cheese was allowed to age for a week before we ate it. Some of it went in a warm broccoli salad with tomato and pinenut vinaigrette. Some of it was crumbled on top of roast lamb and aubergine. After a week it was drier and crumblier with a more pronounced tang, but it still had a lovely creamy mouthfeel.

This was a great success! Definitely worth doing again, the amount of effort was well worth it for the results!

forgingfromagebutton2 Do visit us at Forging Fromage after June 29th, to see what everyone else has been doing with their feta. And you still have time to get on board for the gouda challenge!

22 comments:

NKP said...

Wonderful! I love the brain shape. ;-) What a great idea to use your jelly bag!
I was surprised how easy the feta was to make. Definitely worth doing again. :-)

Peter M said...

The Feta cheese looks amazing! Bravo, enjoy it's countless uses and summer salads.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Natashya - your looks lovely too! I love the photos of it bobbing in the brine.

Peter - Thanks! Definitely looking forward to making more.

Caroline said...

Looks amazing - I'm just not brave enough to try making cheese yet. I do like the similarity of shape to a brain!

And yes, you've been missed! Any news on getting a new laptop? I hope you can, it must be very frustrating using unfamiliar software.

Bettina Douglas said...

We want photos of Urchin!
We missed you!
J&W

mscrankypants said...

Hurrah to your return and to feta!

I installed GIMP as an alternative to Photoshop and it's treating me somewhat kindly (as in I use all the old Photoshop shortcuts and nothing works and I have to read the online manual ... but it's got all the bells and whistles).

Deb in Hawaii said...

Fun shape--you should have made it pinkish. ;-) I love feta and your cheese looks amazing. Great job!

Foodjunkie said...

Always envious of your homemade cheeses. I would love to try this feta just to see how it compares to the store-bought (albeit traditional) stuff we get in Greece.

Alicia Foodycat said...

C - another couple of months until I get a new one!

Mother - I'll see what I can do.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Cranky - Paul has gimp as well but I can't be getting on with it!

Deb - oh yes, I'll have to get some Himalayan salt for the next one!

Johanna - I'd be very interested to hear the comparison too!

Jude said...

Erk. Goat. ;(

It does look lovely though. Reminds me of the rugby. You clever thing. (Just don't offer me any).

Heather said...

Wow! First off, welcome back. Lord knows I can relate to needing a break here and again.

But cheese! You're making your own, and it looks wonderful! I just joined a CSA/food-buying club that can get raw milk, and am now thinking I ought to get in on this.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Jude - it tastes like feta and I know you eat feta! Even if it is goat.

Heather - you lucky thing! I wish I had access to raw milk. Definitely get in on the cheese thing. There are loads of options for using the whey too.

Heather S-G said...

FC...you rock! Your feta turned out beautifully. Your salad looks amazing...man, I am such a slacker. Put forth a challenge and then not complete it on time. At least everybody else has enjoyed it, LOL!! Thanks for forging ;)

Jude said...

Nope. I can smell goat things from a mile away. Am sure it's lovely to non-goat people though!

Alicia Foodycat said...

Heather - I'll be eating my gouda this weekend too!

Jude - oh well, more for me!

kat said...

Oh feta seems like a really good cheese to try next!

Bettina Douglas said...

You should tell Jude that when you were a kitten and growing up with house goats, you wanted shop-bought cows' milk!

Alicia Foodycat said...

Kat - it's really straightforward, you'll find it a breeze.

Mother - well, it tasted funny!

Dharm said...

I'm always impressed by those that make their own cheese! Your feta looks just yummy. The feta reminded me of that old Cheese Advertisement in Australia - Mainland Colby is it? Where two NZ cheesemakers are talking about NZ and one guy asks the other why Mainland Colby cheese is so good. The other remarks that in NZ the grass is greener. The milk is betterr. The cows are fatter.

The other bloke says “Feta! That’s a Greek cheese isn’t it?”

And the first one replies, Ahh, no feta! Fatter - not thin!

I used to love that Ad and cracked up all the time....

Choclette said...

Good to have you back - indeed you were missed. I'm so impressed with your cheese making efforts and this feta looks fantastic - well done.

What is it you do with paint or photoshop come to that for blogging purposes?

Alicia Foodycat said...

Dharm - I love that ad!

Choclette - thanks!

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