Traditional (Greek-style) feta cheese aged in salt brine

lipase, canning, kosher salt


1 gallon milk
1/4 cup cheese culture or buttermilk
1/8 teaspoon lipase enzyme powder
1/2 teaspoon liquid rennet
1/2 cup cool water
Coarse salt
Brine solution

Warm milk to 86 [degrees] F. Stir in culture or buttermilk, add lipase enzyme to 1/4 cup cool water, dissolve enzyme and stir into milk. Set 1 hour to ripen.

Mix rennet in 1/4 cup cool water and stir into ripened milk for one minute. Allow 40 minutes to coagulate. Cut curds into one-inch cubes and let rest for 10 minutes. Stir gently for 20 minutes, keeping the curds at 86 [degrees] F. Pour curds into cheese-clothlined colander and hang the bag of curds to drain for six to eight hours.

After draining, the cheese will be very firm. Slice in half, salt all the surfaces of the cheese with coarse salt and place sections of cheese into a dish. Keep the cheese in a covered dish during the salting process at room temperature for two days. Rub all the surfaces with more salt each day. Drain off any liquid that seeps out of the cheese.

This cheese will become very strong smelling during the salting process. That is the lipase enzyme powder doing its job. After two days, the cheese should become tougher and can now be aged in a brine solution in the refrigerator. Age in brine for one to four weeks.

Brine solution:

7 ounces of canning or kosher salt
1/2 gallon cool water

Mix salt and water together. Not all of the salt will get dissolved. Place the cheese into a crock or dish with a lid. Cover the cheese with the brine solution. Cheese needs to be immersed in the brine.

Note: Feta is traditionally a very salty cheese and is best eaten crumbled over a salad or used in small amounts in other dishes. Some of the saltiness can be removed by soaking in fresh milk overnight.