Feta

Pasteurization of Milk

To begin with, it is necessary to pasteurize the milk, heating it to 68 degrees and maintaining this temperature for 10 minutes.

Then the milk needs to be cooled to 33 degrees by placing the pot in cold water in a bath.

Adding Cultures and Enzymes

When the milk reaches a temperature of 33 degrees, mesophilic cultures should be added (on the surface of the milk) and left for 1.5 hours.

After that, add calcium chloride (1 gram per 10 liters of milk). Dissolve it well in 30 mg of water, then pour it into the milk and mix well.

Then add 0.4 grams of rennet per 10 liters of milk, also previously dissolved in 30 mg of water.

Set a timer and start mixing well.

After mixing, stop the movement of the milk, place what you mixed with on top, and wait, putting a lid on the water.

Turn off the heat.

Curding of the Milk

When the lid stops floating in the milk, note how much time has passed.

If the time is more than 10-12 minutes, next time increase the amount of rennet to reduce the time to the optimum.

Multiply the number of minutes obtained by 3.5 and wait for the resulting number of minutes.

Formation of the Curd

After the set time, cut the curd at intervals of 1.5 cm first horizontally, then vertically.

After 5-7 minutes, cut the curd horizontally at intervals of 1.5 cm.

Stirring and Forming the Curds

Stir slowly and carefully, breaking up the curds.

Stir periodically for 20 minutes.

Then fill the cheese molds and make turns at intervals of 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2-8 hours.

Before the turns, rotate the mold to ensure the cheese is detaching from the walls.

Immediately before flipping, wash your hands with soap.

Salting the Cheese

The salting time depends on the weight of the cheese head and is 50 minutes (for tender cheese) to 60 minutes (for dense cheese) for every 100 grams of weight.

The water temperature for salting should be 10-12 degrees.

Drying and Aging of the Cheese

After salting, place the cheese on a drying rack for several hours.

Then cut the cheese into cubes and place it on a drying rack in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

If placing the cheese in a 10% salt solution for aging, the period is extended to 48 hours.

During this time, the cheese needs to be turned from time to time.

After that, place the cheese in refined olive oil (spices can be added, but not fine ones) for aging or in a 10% salt solution for a period of 14 to 30 days.