This product is made from sheep and goat milk in the form of a large chunk, hence the name "fetax" (literally translated as a chunk). For the first time, the product began to be produced in Greece, but over time, the recipe spread all over the world, and now our cheese makers also prepare feta cheese at home. It turns out to be semi-solid in consistency, but tender and soft in taste, with a slight lactic acidity, both you and your loved ones will be delighted with such a product.

The decision - to cook fetax cheese at home - everyone makes, based on their own reasons: it is expensive for someone to buy store products, someone considers it unhealthy, and someone is just interested in trying their hand at cheese making.

Making cheese is not easy, requiring special skills and abilities, but with feta, things are a little different. It is easy to do, therefore the first "samples" in the preparation of cheeses should fall on the production of this particular Greek product. Then you will understand the basics of making cheese in general and will not be disappointed in your abilities and the result of your efforts.

How to make feta cheese at home: a recipe with fresh milk

Ingredients

• - 2 l + -
• - 1 tsp + -
• Starter culture - 1 pack + -

Making feta cheese at home

The first recipe for making artfully tender Greek cheese will be classic, i.e. we will cook it with homemade cow's milk.

Of course, in Greece it is made on the basis of another type of milk, or rather, their mixture - goat and sheep. But since it is difficult to get such a product in its natural form from us, we will replace it with cow's milk. The taste will be very similar to the original.

This recipe is simple and understandable at each of its culinary stages, but in order to completely save you from mistakes, we will consider the preparation of fetax cheese step by step.

• Boil fresh milk until foam appears, then cool it to room temperature.
• We pour the chilled ladle of milk into a clean glass and add 1 package of dry sourdough into it. It can be bought without any problems at any pharmacy.
• Stir the starter culture in a glass with milk with a spoon, then pour the resulting mass into the main one.
• We send fermented milk for 7-9 hours in the heat, so that living bacteria can do their job - to turn milk into cheese mass.

The smaller the containers in which the milk is fermented, the faster the decay process takes place. dairy product for whey and cottage cheese. Therefore, we recommend pouring the prepared mixture into small glass jars, then cover them with lids and put in a warm place.

• When you see that the whey has separated, line the bottom of the colander with a clean waffle towel or regular gauze, slightly wrapping the pieces of gauze / towel around its edges.
• We place the covered colander in a saucepan, after which we pour the first jar of fermented milk into it. Thanks to the towel / gauze, the whey will "go" down, and the curd will remain at the bottom of the colander. We also do with all the other containers - we filter them one by one through a covered colander.
• We collect the edges of the fabric in the middle and tie them into a knot - we get a kind of bag, which we hang by the ends on a crossbar, nail or faucet so that the remaining serum slowly drips off. On average, this process will take about 30 minutes.

• As soon as the remaining whey drains off, return the bag with the curdled mass to the colander, and put it in a clean bowl and press the bag down with pressure (filled with water in a 1-1.5 liter jar) for 1-2 hours.
• After the indicated time, drain the whey from the bowl and stir it with salt.
• Fill the salted whey mixture with boiled water, stir everything thoroughly, put a bag of Greek cheese into the resulting mass.
• In such a brine, we leave the future feta cheese for 1-2 hours. During this time, the fetaxa will become saturated with salt and acquire a pleasant slightly salty flavor.

Important: it is almost impossible to oversalt the cheese when "lying" in the brine. During the time that feta will arrive in the brine liquid, the cheese will absorb as much salt as it needs - and not a gram more.

After the specified period of time, we take out the homemade feta cheese from the brine and carefully cut it into beautiful portioned slices.

With what to serve fetax cheese to the table

Due to its refined taste, it is combined semi-hard cheese with many ingredients, and most importantly, they are all available and simple. So absolutely any hostess can create an exquisite aristocratic table. To do this, you just need to cook feta cheese at home, and then it's up to little.

Homemade feta cheese is served with a variety of products, but such components as perfectly complement its taste:

• chopped fresh herbs(spinach, parsley, dill, etc.);
• vegetables (cucumbers, olives, onions, bell peppers);
• toasts, or as we used to call them - croutons;
• seafood, meat (for example, chicken or turkey), fish;
• sweet grapes.

Most often, fetaxa is cut (into cubes) into a Greek salad, it is thanks to him that feta cheese has become so popular in our country.

In addition to salad, cheese can be eaten alone, with only spices (basil, mint, a mixture of Provencal herbs, oregano and any other spices to taste are suitable) and exquisite red wine. This idea of ​​serving delicate Greek fetax cheese is perfect for festive feasts, secular receptions and just friendly gatherings in the circle of real gourmet friends.

Baking lovers can add their favorite cheese to the pie filling - it turns out incredibly tasty and spicy. In a word, how and with what to serve your beloved home product from milk in the Greek style - it's up to you to decide, the most important thing is to cook it correctly, and then nothing can spoil its divine taste.

As mentioned above, making fetax at home with your own hands is quite simple, however, you cannot do without knowledge of a proven recipe and practical advice.

There are a few important points in the preparation of a Greek product, which you must learn before proceeding directly to the process of cheese making itself.

1. We use only fresh and homemade milk. This is an important condition, without which good quality cheese will not work. Store milk, no matter how much dry sourdough is added to it, will not turn sour properly.
2. One sachet of starter culture is enough to thicken 1-3 liters of homemade milk.
3. If you made a mistake in the technology, and the feta turned out to be too salty, soak it in ordinary milk or mineral water literally 3-4 minutes, right before serving.
4. It is necessary to store ready-made homemade fetax cheese only in brine, then its shelf life will be infinite.

The calorie content of Greek feta cheese is 290 kcal per 100 g of dairy product.

You are unlikely to gain a lot of extra pounds from eating such goodies, especially if you eat only a couple of pieces, but for a diet, such an amount of calories is unacceptable.

If you are losing weight or are strictly calculating the daily calories consumed, then you should cook feta cheese not with fatty cow's milk, but with natural yogurt. Then the calorie content will significantly decrease - from 290 kcal to 57 kcal per 100 g of product. This cooking technology will be discussed in the next recipe.

Feta cheese: yogurt recipe

This recipe can be safely called dietary. The cheese obtained using this technology is great for diets and fasting days. If you force festive table mainly with dishes made from such cheese, then you will not inflict much damage on the figure, but you will definitely remain well-fed and satisfied.

Ingredients

• Yogurt (natural) from goat milk - 1 kg;
• Sea salt - 1 tsp;
• Chili pepper - 2 pcs.;
• Olive oil - 1 tablespoon;
• Cumin, fennel - to taste;
• Lemon - 1 pc.;
• Mint - 3 sprigs.

How to make feta cheese from yogurt at home

1. Grind ½ lemon zest with a grater, mix the grated mass with olive oil, natural yoghurt and sea salt.
2. Cover the colander with gauze folded in several layers, then transfer the prepared food mixture into it.
3. We set the colander over the bowl and put everything in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
4. After 2 days, all the whey will drain, and we can make original balls of medium diameter from the resulting curd-lemon mass.
5. Fry the cumin and fennel seeds in a dry skillet to fully develop their aroma. Then add chopped chili pepper to a hot container (remove the seeds from it first) and also lightly fry it over medium heat.
6. Cut off half of the skin from the lemon, carefully tear off the leaves from the mint.
7. Put the handmade cheese balls into a saucepan, add olive oil to them, put the whole peel (with ½ lemon), as well as fried peppers, fennel and caraway seeds.
8. We cover all this with a lid and put it in the refrigerator for 2 days.

On this uncomplicated preparation over - you can enjoy the fragrant and spicy dietary feta cheese. Cut it, according to tradition, into beautiful small chunks and eat with raw vegetables and greens.

As you can see, making feta cheese at home is incredibly easy. Even a novice hostess can master this technology. If you manage to cook such a product for the first time, then everything will go “like clockwork” and cooking Greek fetax cheese will become your favorite pastime.

Good luck with your cheese making!

Feta is undoubtedly one of the most famous Greek cheeses, the origin of which goes far back in history. Feta is considered one of the oldest cheeses in the world!

The earliest mention of this cheese took place in the Byzantine Empire. Feta is closely related to Crete, located in modern Greece. An Italian traveler in the city of Candia, in his letters dated 1494, specifically mentions the aging process of cheese in cellars.

The word "feta" has interesting story occurrence. Translated from the Italian word fetta means a slice. Perhaps this is due to the fact that when serving, the cheese was cut into thin slices. Fetta, in turn, is Latin for offa (meaning bite or bite). The word first appeared in Greek in the 17th century. According to the myth, Cyclops Polyfimos was the first to cook it. In the Delphi Museum (6th century BC), artifacts also refer to the process of making feta cheese.

Varieties of Greek feta cheese can be found in many Balkan countries as well as in the Mediterranean region.

In fact, Feta accounts for 70% of the consumption of Greek cheeses. The cheese is protected by EU legislation, and only those cheeses that are produced in Macedonia, Thrace, Thessaly, Central Mainland Greece, the Peloponnese and Lesvos can officially be called "Feta". Similar cheeses produced elsewhere, such as in the eastern Mediterranean and around the Black Sea outside the EU, are often referred to as "white cheese".

To create a traditional feta, 30% of goat's milk is mixed with sheep's milk from animals grazing on pastures in specific regions of origin. Hardness, texture and taste differ from region to region, but in general, cheese from Macedonia and Thrace is softer and creamier, less salty with fewer holes. Feta, made in Thessaly and Central Greece, has a stronger flavor.

In general, Feta is cottage cheese, with a salty and tangy taste. It is distinguished by its graininess. Hardness can range from soft to semi-hard. After maturing for 2 months, feta is sold in square blocks dipped in brine. The cheese can be used as a cuts on the table, a pizza topping or added to a Greek salad. It goes well with olive oil, paprika and nuts. If necessary, it can be rinsed with water to get rid of excess salt.

Cooking process

You will need:

• 10 liters of milk;
• ¼ tsp;
• thermometer;
• drainage mat;

Our recipe uses cow's milk, but you can substitute goat's or sheep's milk for a more traditional flavor.

Milk preparation

Before starting the cheese making process, pasteurize the milk. This is the only way you can be sure of the safety of your milk. Still not sure what pasteurization is? This article describes this procedure in detail.
Now you can go directly to the recipe.

Heat milk to 34 ° C.
After reaching the desired temperature, add the previously activated starter (¼ tsp). Read about the starter activation process. Leave the milk for 40-60 minutes.

Coagulation (coagulation) of milk

After 40-60 minutes, you need to add rennet to the milk. To do this, dilute with ½ tsp. rennet in a ¼ glass of room temperature water and pour the resulting solution into the milk.
Stir the milk thoroughly (about 2-3 minutes). After 10 minutes, the milk will begin to thicken. However, the entire coagulation process takes about 40 minutes from the time of addition of rennet. After the clotting is completed, it is necessary to check the readiness and correctness of the resulting clot. A clean office can be viewed.

Curd handling, filling molds and forming cheese heads

1. Cut the formed clot into cubes with a side of 1.5 - 2 cm.
2. Then, knead the curd for 20 minutes, maintaining approximately the original temperature (it's okay if it drops a few degrees). The hardness of your ready-made cheese depends on the mixing time. After mixing, let the grain settle to the bottom for 10 minutes.
3. Before filling out the forms, they must be disinfected. To do this, wash the molds well and pour over boiling water.
4. Remove the whey to the level of the curd and then transfer the mass to the mold.
5. Leave the mass in the mold overnight (8-10 hours) at a temperature of 20-22 ° C. During the first two hours, the cheese head should be turned over as often as possible. This cheese requires a small weight (about 1 kg), since Feta cheese is well pressed under its own weight. During this time, the sourdough will continue to increase in acidity. By the morning, the cheese should be quite hard, in addition, a sour smell should appear (pH = 4.7-4.8).
6. The resulting mass can now be cut into smaller pieces to ensure even salting.

Salting

To prepare the brine, you will need:

• 1 liter of boiled water;
• 200 grams of table salt.

Boil water, add salt, stir well until salt dissolves, strain through and cool the resulting brine.

Place the cheese cubes in the brine for 8 hours.

After 8 hours, remove the cubes from the brine and place them on a drainage mat. Leave for 2-3 days, keeping the temperature at 10-13 ° C. The cheese can be covered. The blocks must be turned over several times a day, which will help to evenly dry the surface of the cheese.

Storing feta cheese in brine

Feta cheese storage brine is 8% brine. The brine should completely cover the cheese during storage. Ripening temperature - 10-13 ° С. Term - 30 days. Subsequently, feta cheese should be stored in, filled with brine, at a temperature of 5-7 ° C until the moment of consumption.

If the cheese seems too salty when you eat it, just soak it in milk for several hours.

Feta cheese salad is an ideal dish for a nutritious breakfast, a full meal, light supper or as a spicy addition to the main dish - you can eat salads with Feta cheese in any cases, which is convenient, and also extremely healthy and very tasty!

When choosing Feta cheese, be sure to read the label! The real Feta cheese contains sheep's milk, possibly a small (up to 30%) goat's milk content.

How to make feta salad - 15 varieties

Greek salad with Feta cheese

Famous recipe Greek salad with Feta cheese will decorate the culinary collection of any housewife.

Ingredients:

• Tomato 3 pcs.
• Fresh cucumber 1 pc.
• Bulgarian sweet pepper 3 pcs.
• Sweet onion 1 pc.
• Garlic 1 clove
• Feta cheese 200 gr.
• Olives to taste
• Olive oil 50 ml.

Preparation:

1. Wash and dry the cucumber, tomato and bell pepper thoroughly.
2. Peel the cucumber.
3. Cut vegetables into medium-sized cubes.
4. Chop the garlic with a knife.
5. Cut the onion into rings.
6. Cut the cheese separately into large cubes.
7. Add olives whole to salad.
8. Lightly salt all vegetables and stir, season with olive oil.
9. Top with olives and Feta cheese cut into small, neat cubes.

Spring recipe for a very healthy vitamin salad.

Ingredients:

• Beets 2 pcs.
• Feta cheese 200 gr.
• Arugula salad
• Oregano 2-3 leaves
• Thyme 2-3 sprigs
• Arugula salad 100 gr.
• Walnut 50 gr.
• Garlic 1 clove
• Soy sauce 4-5 tbsp spoons
• Dill 2-3 branches
• Lemon juice 1-2 tbsp. spoons
• Olive oil 100 ml.

Preparation:

1. Bake the beets in the oven for 30 minutes. Peel and cut into thin slices.
2. Cut the cheese into large pieces. Marinate the cheese in oil with oregano and thyme.
3. Wash and dry the salad.
4. Prepare the sauce.
5. To do this, chop the walnuts.
6. Finely chop the garlic.
7. In a frying pan, fry the nuts and garlic in olive oil. Add there soy sauce and heat for 5 minutes.
8. V hot sauce add finely chopped dill and juice of half a lemon.
9. Place the salad ingredients on a platter. Pour the sauce over the salad.

Traditional salad with the addition of Chinese cabbage suddenly gets very spicy taste, but still remains light and satisfying.

Ingredients:

• Chinese cabbage 1 head
• Tomato 2 pcs.
• Feta cheese 100 gr.
• Olives to taste
• Oregano, salt to taste
• Olive oil 50 ml.
• Lemon juice 2 tbsp spoons

Preparation:

Chop the head of cabbage into thin strips, add salt, mash slightly and leave for 15 minutes.

Cut the well-washed tomatoes into cubes.

For tomatoes to keep their shape well, choose not overripe fruits.

Cut the feta cheese into cubes.

Add diced cheese, tomatoes, and halves of olives to the cabbage.

Sprinkle the ingredients with lemon juice, season with olive oil and add oregano.

Mix everything thoroughly.

Amazingly tasty, attractive in appearance and, most importantly, healthy vegetable salad with feta, potatoes and tomatoes will conquer your family.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes 2 pcs.
• Tomato 1 pc.
• Bell pepper different colors 3 pcs.
• Bulb onion 1 pc.
• Cucumber 1 pc.
• Olives 50 gr.
• Feta cheese 100g.
• Olive oil 50 ml.

Preparation:

1. Wash the potatoes, cut into cubes. Boil until tender in salted water.
2. Peel and chop the onion.
3. Wash the bell pepper and clean it from partitions and seeds. Cut nicely into triangles or squares.
4. Cut the tomato and cucumber into cubes.
5. Stir vegetables, add oil and olives.
6. Cut the Feta cheese and put it on the finished dish.
7. Season the salad with salt and pepper.

Summer juicy salad, you will be pleasantly surprised how successfully and interestingly the ingredients are combined in it. Fresh mint leaves successfully complement the palette of taste.

Ingredients:

• Melon to taste
• Feta cheese to taste
• Ground pepper to taste
• Fresh mint to taste

Preparation:

1. Peel the melon pulp.
2. Scrub the seeds from the center of the melon.
3. Cut the pulp into large cubes.
4. Cut the feta cheese into cubes.
5. The pieces of cheese and melon should be about the same size.
6. Mix Feta cheese with melon pulp, add fresh mint leaves, cut into thin strips.
7. Season the salad with ground pepper to taste.
8. Mix gently.

Chickpeas are a terrific food rich in vegetable protein. Thanks to useful properties and beautiful appearance it is considered the most fashionable product of the 21st century.

Ingredients for the salad:

• Chickpeas 100 gr.
• Pumpkin 200 gr.
• Bulb onion 1 pc.
• Spinach 100 gr.
• Garlic 5 cloves
• Sugar 1 tsp
• Salt pepper
• Cilantro 50 gr.
• Mint 50 gr.
• Green onions 50 gr.

Ingredients for dressing:

• Mustard 1 tsp
• Salt pepper
• Olive oil 2 tbsp
• Vinegar 1 tsp
• White wine 1 tbsp. spoon

Preparation:

1. Soak chickpeas overnight and boil without adding salt.
2. Cut the peeled pumpkin small cubes.
3. Peel the onion and cut into wedges.
4. Put pumpkin, onion and garlic in a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with sugar.
5. Put in the oven for 5-7 minutes at 220 degrees.
6. Prepare the dressing by mixing all the ingredients.
7. Pour half of the dressing immediately into the peas.
8. Grind the feta.
9. Cut coarsely green onions, cilantro and mint.
10. Layer on a dish: spinach leaves, peas, vegetables, cheese and herbs.
11. Pour the dressing over the salad.

Salad with chicken and Feta cheese is quick and easy to prepare, and its spicy taste, which many will like.

Ingredients:

• Chicken fillet -200 gr.
• Feta cheese 100 gr.
• Cucumber 1 pc.
• Tomato 1 pc.
• Vegetable oil 100 ml.

Preparation:

1. Cut the chicken fillet, boiled in salted water, into cubes.
2. Feta cheese and cucumber cut into cubes
3. Cut the tomato into slices
4. Gently mix all ingredients, salt.
5. Season the salad with vegetable oil before serving.
6. Add lemon juice to taste if desired.

Cooking this salad will take you no more than 5 minutes, and the charge of vivacity and a feeling of satiety will remain for the whole day.

Ingredients:

• Iceberg salad 300 gr.
• Cucumber 2 pcs.
• Tomato 1 pc.
• Celery stalk 2 pcs.
• Feta cheese 100 gr.
• Vegetable oil 50 ml.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:

1. Cut the salad into large cubes.
2. Cut the celery stalk, tomato, cucumber and cheese into small cubes.
3. Add vegetable oil.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Feta cheese salad and avocado - truly original recipe! A treasure trove of vitamins and gustatory sensations.

Ingredients for the salad:

• Mix of lettuce green leaves 150 gr.
• Avocado 2 pcs.
• Onion 1 pc.
• Cherry tomatoes 225 gr.
• Feta cheese or feta cheese 200 gr.

Ingredients for dressing:

• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• Olive oil 50 ml.
• Dijon mustard 1 tsp

Preparation:

1. Cut the avocado in half and peel it. Cut into wedges and dip in 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
2. Peel and chop the onions.
3. Place lettuce leaves in a bowl with avocado and onion.
4. Cut the tomatoes in half, add to a bowl. Mix gently.
5. Crumble the feta cheese, sprinkle on top.
6. Prepare the dressing. To do this, just put all the ingredients for dressing in a jar with a lid, shake vigorously and season with salt and black pepper.
7. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, stir and serve immediately.

Salad with fried watermelon and feta is unusual and interesting dish... Prepare it and please your loved ones.

Ingredients:

• Watermelon 500 gr.
• Feta cheese or feta cheese 200 gr.
• Arugula salad 50 gr.
• Sesame seeds 1 tsp
• Vegetable oil 50 gr.
• Lemon juice 1 tbsp spoon.
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

Cut the cheese into small cubes.

Peel the watermelon and cut into large cubes.

Fry in a dry frying pan on both sides.

To make the watermelon with golden brown, pre-dry it with a paper towel on both sides.

Put arugula, pieces of fried watermelon, cheese on a plate.

Pour oil over the salad, drizzle lemon juice and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Very simple, easy to prepare and delicious salad in the Greek style - pasta salad with feta cheese and various vegetables.

Ingredients for the salad:

• Pasta 250 gr.
• Corn, tinned 0.5 cans
• Pitted black olives 0.5 cans
• Bulgarian pepper 0.5 pcs.
• Cherry tomatoes 15 pcs.
• Feta cheese 50 gr.
• Ground black pepper to taste

Ingredients for dressing:

• Garlic 1-2 cloves
• Wine red vinegar 20 ml.
• Olive oil 100 ml.
• Lemon juice 1 tbsp spoon
• Salt 1 tsp
• Dry mustard 0.5 tsp
• Oregano dry 0.25 tsp
• Honey or sugar 0.25 tsp Spoons
• Dry thyme (or dry dill) to taste
• Ground pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Boil the paste. Throw in a colander. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Transfer to a bowl of pasta.
3. Pepper seeds and cut into cubes. Transfer to a bowl of pasta.
4. Add chopped olives to the salad.
5. Drain the corn jar. Add corn to the rest of the ingredients.
6. Cut the cheese into small cubes.
7. Add feta cheese to taste.
8. Pepper and mix gently.
9. Prepare the dressing.
10. For the sauce, combine all the ingredients in the processor.
11. Season the pasta salad and stir again.

Summer, sun, sea ... This salad will harmoniously fit into your summer menu.

Ingredients:

• Peaches 3 pcs.
• Feta cheese 100 gr.
• Arugula 50 gr.
• Honey 1 tbsp. spoon
• Olive oil 50 ml.
• Balsamic vinegar 1 tsp
• Ground black pepper to taste.

Preparation:

1. Cut the peaches into slices.
2. Pour some olive oil into a frying pan, add a spoonful of honey and quickly fry the peaches.
3. Crumble the feta into a bowl.
4. Add arugula and peaches.
5. Season with olive oil, add a little balsamic vinegar.
6. Pepper to taste.

Salad with beef, cucumber and Feta cheese - healthy salad for those who care about their figure, and also try to eat right.

Ingredients:

• Feta cheese 100 gr.
• Beef 200 gr.
• Cucumber 3 pcs.
• Sour cream 100 gr.
• Potatoes 3 pcs.

Preparation:

1. Cut the boiled potatoes into cubes.
2. Cut the boiled beef into strips.
3. Slice fresh cucumber straws.
4. Stir all the ingredients with sour cream and salt.
5. Slice in large pieces Chees Feta".
6. Put in salad.
7. Gently mix salad with cheese.

Taboule salad with Feta cheese and Kus-Kus

The taste of Tabouleh salad is characteristic of southern Mediterranean cuisine in general and Greek cuisine in particular. However, Feta cheese is already, undoubtedly, a Greek element that enriches the taste of the dish.

Ingredients:

• Green onion 1 bunch
• Crimean onion 1 pc.
• Parsley (leaves) 100 gr.
• Iceberg lettuce (leaves) 80 gr.
• Strong tomatoes 3 pcs.
• Small cucumbers 2 pcs.
• Couscous 100 gr.
• Feta cheese 200 gr.
• Olive oil 100 ml.
• Lemon juice to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:

1. Cut the cucumbers into small cubes.
2. Cut the tomato into small cubes.
3. In the same way, chop the onion and finely chop the herbs and iceberg leaves.
4. Steam couscous in 100 ml of water. Let stand for 5 minutes, then cool.
5. Toss with all the vegetables and season with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper before serving.

Brazilian eggplant salad with meat and feta cheese can be used as an appetizer, as well as a full lunch or light dinner.

Ingredients:

• Pork (tenderloin) 100 gr.
• Bulgarian yellow pepper 30 gr.
• Bulgarian red pepper 30 gr.
• Bulb onion 30 gr.
• Tomatoes in own juice 100 g
• Feta cheese 100 gr.
• Tomato 100 gr.
• Eggplant 150 gr.
• Brazilian spices 3 gr.
• Green onions 10 gr.
• Chili pepper 1 pc.
• Vegetable oil 20 ml.
• Pepper to taste
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Cut into small cubes onion and bell pepper.
2. In a hot skillet, fry the chopped vegetables on vegetable oil about 3 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes in your own juice. Cook for 3 minutes. Season to the desired taste with salt and pepper, a mixture of Brazilian spices.

The classic Feta cheese is a popular fermented milk product, whose homeland is Greece. It necessarily includes sheep or goat milk, and in consistency it turns out to be slightly crumbly semi-hard and has a soft delicate taste with light notes of lactic acidity. Now this type of cheese is produced in almost all European countries, mainly from cow's milk, and is also referred to as Fetax or Fetaki.

The calorie content of the product is quite high for fermented milk products - about 260-270 kcal per 100 g, so it is not dietary, as it seems at first glance.

If you want to try your hand at the art of cheese making, then homemade feta cheese is an ideal option for a beginner cheesemaker, because the process of its preparation is one of the simplest. Consider step by step with a photo various recipes feta cheese and learn how to make it yourself at home.

Lazy Feta

This instruction is very simple and contains only 2 ingredients. No sourdough is used here. The output is about 420-450 g of finished product.

You will need:

• Homemade milk - 2.5 liters;
• Salt - 2 incomplete teaspoons.

Cooking scheme:

1. Put fresh milk in a warm place for 6-10 hours. During this time, it should acidify a little, but remain liquid. Make sure that it does not turn into yogurt, otherwise nothing will work;
2. Pour it into a saucepan and put it in a cold oven. We set the temperature level to 180 degrees and warm up the contents for an hour. Periodically opening the oven door, make sure that the milk does not boil. If this happens, then the temperature should be slightly reduced;
3. During this hour, a curd curd should form on the surface. It must be moved into a colander, previously covered with a piece of gauze folded 4 times;
4. We tilt the colander itself and leave it in such a state for 20 minutes to allow the whey to drain;
5. Add the future cheese on top with an incomplete teaspoon of salt, then gently transfer the salted side down into the covered cling film a plastic container and trim the edges with a plastic culinary spatula;
6. Add the rest of the salt on top again and put a special piston for the cheese. It is better not to put the product under the load. If serum forms on top, then it should be removed;
7. After cooling, place the product in the refrigerator for 12 hours. After that, the feta cheese at home will be ready. It should have a light salty taste. You can store it in a mold, where it cooled down, or in brine, which is made from one liter of whey and three tablespoons of salt.

Such delicious homemade cheese will turn out to be no worse than store-bought cheese, and its production will cost much less.

Feta with sourdough

This recipe is a little more complicated than the previous one - it uses sourdough. From the specified amount of ingredients, 300 g of fresh fermented milk product is obtained.

You will need:

• Homemade milk - 3.5 l;
• Calcium chloride and rennet starter - a quarter of a teaspoon each;
• Salt - 5 large spoons;
• Boiled cold water- 200 ml.

Step by step preparation of feta cheese:

1. Fill an enamel saucepan with milk and heat it to 86 degrees. To accurately measure the temperature, it is best to use a special cooking thermometer;
2. Next, add rennet and calcium chloride (each of these ingredients must be dissolved in 100 ml of boiled cool water). Chloride gives the finished product the required degree of hardness, but you can do without it;
3. Stir the milk thoroughly, cover the pan with a lid and put it in heat for about an hour. This time is enough for the formation of a curdled clot, which then needs to be cut with a knife into small cubes and left to lie in the whey for about 10 minutes;
4. Next, we warm up the container with the resulting mass on a small flame to a temperature level of 90 degrees. In the process of heating, gently stir the curd cubes;
5. We cover the colander with gauze, folded into three layers, and filter the contents from the previous step;
6. Collect the curd remaining on the gauze cloth in a knot, tie it and hang it in a cool place over some container so that the serum is glass (then do not pour it out). This action will take about 8 hours;
7. The finished cheese should be a little dense and keep its shape. We cut it into plates with a thickness of about 2 cm, add them and put them in the refrigerator for about 7 hours. If you do not like too salty foods, then you can skip this stage or reduce the amount of salt;
8. The final touch is cutting the product into small cubes, which then need to be folded into an ordinary glass jar and filled with brine, which is made by mixing two glasses of whey and three large spoons of salt. This extends the shelf life of feta to three weeks.

Feta with sour cream and pepsin

Another option for making popular cheese at home.

You need:

• Boiled water - 250 ml;
• Goat milk - 2 l;
• Pepsin - 1 g;
• Homemade sour cream - 200 g.

We cook as follows:

1. Divide the milk into two equal parts, 1 liter each. We heat the first half on a small flame to a temperature of 38 degrees (for accurate measurements we use a special thermometer), and connect the second with sour cream;
2. Dissolve the pepsin in boiled water and pour it into the milk-sour cream mixture;
3. In an enamel saucepan, combine both parts of the milk and put it in the heat for 6 hours;
4. After this time, we drain the whey, wrap the cheese in cheesecloth and put it under oppression for another 12 hours. The product should be squeezed well so that there is no excess whey;
5. The finished fermented milk product is best stored in brine, which consists of a teaspoon dissolved in a liter of water calcium chloride and 100 g of salt.

Feta baked in foil

With feta, you can make many original and delicious dishes... The most popular of them is world famous. We suggest you to cook in the same way easy fast an appetizer based on the most delicate cheese.

Grocery list:

• Feta - 200 g;
• Olive oil - 4 tablespoons;
• One red dried pepper (hot);
• Ripe large tomato;
• Garlic - 4 cloves;
• Zest from half a lemon;
• Dried or fresh oregano.

Cooking instructions:

1. We put the oven to warm up to a temperature of 190 degrees;
2. We cut the feta into 4 slices and carefully saturate it with a paper napkin from excess moisture;
3. We place each piece on a small piece of foil, so that later it will be convenient to wrap;
4. Cut the tomato into slices and lay out one for each cheese slice;
5. Finely chop the garlic, red pepper and oregano, then sprinkle each piece on top. We also add lemon zest;
6. Pour olive oil over the dish, wrap it well in foil and place in the oven for 15 minutes. On this, feta cheese, baked in the oven, is ready. When serving, it can be supplemented with white bread toasted in the oven, or used as an independent dish.

Video: Homemade feta cheese on kefir