I'll try to be concise.
There is no real "supposed to" when it comes to cheese. Being Greek sadly
does not make one an arbiter of either good taste or good Feta. Also, strong
does not equal flavourful, just as loud does not equal intense. When It
comes to flavour, less is sometimes more. All obvious things, I know, but
worth reiterating.
In N.A., as in Denmark and Australia, most Feta is made from cow's milk and
has sheep and or goat enzyme's added to develop characteristic flavours as
it ages. It is also bleached with hydrogen peroxide to remove the beta
carotene that makes cow's milk yellowish and turn the cheese white. Many
Greek restaurants here buy their Feta based on networks of friendships in
their community and based on a strong low-price bias and end up using cow
feta.
In Greece there are several grades of Feta, based on the amount of sheep or
goat milk they contain. Unlike our fat-phobic food culture, a value premium
is placed on fat and sheeps milk has roughly 12% fat straight from the
udder. The curds from sheep's milk are much more luxurious and their texture
develops beautifully over time. Both sheep and goat's milk are naturally
extremely mild when fresh and properly handled but they are highly subject
to spoilage from poor handling prior to conversion to cheese, and the
resulting flavours are both unpleasant and unfamiliar to our tastes here.
Cow's milk is the lowest grade milk in Greece and is rarely used in cheese
for local consumption.
Contrary to what you might think, since it is stored in brine, Feta is also
susceptible to spoilage. It is common practice among Greek or other European
cheese vendors to leave Feta sitting around at room temperature, where it
rapidly begins to acquire yeast and slime molds. Consequently a yeasty
flavour is often associated by many people, including Greeks, with Feta. It
is in fact a flavour defect that some have acquired a taste for, not to
place a value judgement on it. Tang in any cheese is also a flavour defect
as it is evidence of a level of acidity that is not normal in cheese.
Tanginess and yeastiness in Feta might be considered normal to city
dwellers, but those who live closer to the source would be outraged if
someone tried to sell it to them unless they were selling it off cheap. You
can tell cow's milk feta because it is kind of grainy in texture and forms
little hard sort of pebbles of different sizes, whereas sheep or goat feta
will either kind of fall apart or have a creamy tendency to hold together.
As for mild feta in restaurants, that's because of several things: one is
North American tastes which lean towards bland, blander, and blandest! This
gives cheese companies the impression that they have the right to release
cheese that has not yet aged appropriately. And the longer you hold cheese,
the more it costs you. Secondly it is probably made from cow's milk, which
is lacking in flavour and has been bleached. Thirdly, it lacks the flavour
defects that you are used to getting in the tired imported Feta that your
friends buy after it has already been mishandled for a while!
Sadly it's just one of the many ways in which our agri-food system rips us
off every day!
regards,
Patrick
-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin Graeme [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: January 15, 2004 9:27 AM
To: CF-Community
Subject: Re: never use an old pressure cooker
> Yeah, ever since we spent time talking about cheesemaking a couple years
> ago, I've really gained appreciation for goat cheeses of all kinds.
Vermont
> Butter and Cheese Company makes a lovely Goat Feta Cheese that is very
mild
> and luxurious. Even people who "hate" feta love it.
Is feta supposed to be mild? When I get fed "real" feta at a greek friend's
home it always has a bit of a tang to it, but I notice when I get feta at
many resturaunts that it's so mild it might as well not be there.
-Kevin
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