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Feta
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Feta or Greek cheese is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. A sheep’s milk cheese, varying amounts of goats’ milk may be added, as long as this milk makes up less than 30% of the total mixture. Since 2005, feta has been a protected designation of origin product in the European Union. Outside of the EU, cheeses sold as 'feta' may include cow's milk, or even be composed exclusively of cow's milk.
Feta is an aged cheese, commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture.
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Encyclopedia
Feta or Greek cheese is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. A sheep’s milk cheese, varying amounts of goats’ milk may be added, as long as this milk makes up less than 30% of the total mixture. Since 2005, feta has been a protected designation of origin product in the European Union. Outside of the EU, cheeses sold as 'feta' may include cow's milk, or even be composed exclusively of cow's milk.
Feta is an aged cheese, commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. It is used as a table cheese, as well as in salads, pastries and in baking, notably in the popular phyllo-based dishes spanakopita ("spinach pie") and tyropita ("cheese pie") and combined with olive oil and vegetables.
Similar white brined cheeses (often called 'white cheese' in the various languages) are found in the eastern Mediterranean and around the Black Sea.
Feta is salted and cured in a brine solution (based on water or whey) for several months. Feta dries out rapidly when removed from the brine. Feta cheese is white, usually formed into square cakes, and can range from soft to semi-hard, with a tangy, salty flavor that can range from mild to sharp. The cured cheese easily crumbles. Its fat content can range from 30 to 60 percent; most is around 45 percent milk fat. Most feta cheese has a pH of 4.4 to 4.9.
Feta is also an important ingredient of Greek salad. Feta, like most cheeses, can also be served cooked; it is sometimes grilled as part of a sandwich or as a salty alternative to other cheeses in a variety of dishes.
Historical origins
Feta cheese has been produced and enjoyed throughout the countries of the eastern Mediterranean since antiquity. According to legend, feta is the world's oldest type of cheese and originated at the dawn of civilization in Ancient Iraq.
Feta cheese is recorded in the historic Byzantine Empire (which expanded over the East Mediterranean, called Vizantio), under the name p??sfat?? (prósphatos, "recent", i.e. fresh), and was associated specifically with Crete. An Italian visitor to Candia in 1494 describes its storage in brine clearly.
The Greek word "feta" comes from the Italian word fetta ("slice") and that from Latin offa "bite, morsel". It was introduced into the Greek language in the 17th century, likely referring to the method of cutting the cheese in thin slices to serve on a plate.
Traditionally, feta has been made by peasants in the lower Balkan peninsula from sheep's milk, although goat's milk has been used in more recent times. It is also used for banitsa.
Certification
After a long legal battle with Denmark, which produced a cheese under the same name using artificially blanched cow's milk, the term "feta" is since July 2002 a protected designation of origin (PDO), which limits the term within the European Union to feta made exclusively of sheep's/goat's milk in Greece.
According to the Commission, the biodiversity of the land coupled with the special breeds of sheep and goats used for milk is what gives feta cheese a specific aroma and flavor.
When needed to describe an imitation to feta, names such as "salad cheese" and "Greek-style cheese" are used. The European Commission gave other nations five years to find a new name for their "feta" cheese, or to stop production. Because of the decision by the European Union, Denmark changed the name of their product to apetina.
Similar cheeses around the world
Similar cheeses can be found in Albania (djath), Bulgaria (sirene ??????), Cyprus (?a??t??, halitzi), F.Y.R Macedonia (???? ??????, belo sirenje; 'white cheese'), Serbia (sir ???), Israel (gvina bulgarit Bulgarian cheese), Turkey (beyaz peynir 'white cheese'), Egypt (domiati), and Sudan (gibna beyda), Romania (brânza telemea), Russia (brynza, ??????), Ukraine (brynza, ??????), Iran (panir liqvan), Malta (Gbejna tan- naghag 'sheep's cheese' ) , and other countries. In some of these countries, the name "feta" is used interchangeably with the native, while in others "feta" is not used at all or refers to other (mainly imported) types of cheese.
See also
Bibliography
External links
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- - Feta's history, production and conservation methods, and recipes
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