cheese time.
Crumble feta into a salad and you’re following a tradition that stretches back thousands of years. Some cheese historians claim an early forerunner cameo-ed in Homer’s Odyssey, which describes the cheesemaking exploits of the cyclops Polyphemus before he discovers Odysseus hiding in his cave. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t end well for the one-eyed cheesemaker.
The cheese is a jewel in Greece’s culinary crown, with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), meaning it must be made in Greece with sheep’s milk, plus up to 30% goat’s milk. The higher the ratio of goat’s milk, the whiter and more piquant the cheese, while 100% sheep’s milk fetas are ivory and richer in flavour.
ROLL OUT THE BARREL Most feta exported to the UK is made industrially, aged in metal tanks for just two months, giving a cheese that’s fresh and salty but lacks complexity. Fetas aged in traditional beechwood barrels are more interesting. The wood imparts yeasty, fruity notes and the longer they’re matured, the more intense they become, developing barnyard and lanolin notes. Roussas feta from Odysea is aged this way for eight months, while Maltby & Greek imports kostarelos 12-month barrel-aged feta. Both are full of character and can hold their own on a cheeseboard, drizzled with honey and served with thyme leaves.