Feta, of course, the shepherd’s cheese par excellence. Dodoni, the district around the ancient oracle and amphitheater, produces some of the country’s best. Galotyri, literally ‘milk cheese’, is irresistibly creamy and tangy, but hard to find outside the shepherds’ strongholds of Epirus, Thessaly and Roumeli. Hard, pungent Kefalotyri, from goat and sheep milk, is mainly used for grating. Sweet Manouri, a smooth whey cheese made from sheep’s milk or a mixture of sheep’s and goat’s milk to which cream has been added, comes in long, pure white cylinders. Delicious with fruit or on its own for dessert.
Feta is arguably the best-known Greek food abroad. Just as we were going to press, Greece won the final round in a long dispute over the use of the name Feta. TheEuropean Union granted Greek Feta a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) status and issued a decree prohibiting European countries other than Greece from using the name Feta. In Europe, similar cheeses now must be called “brined white cheese.” Within Greece, Feta can be made only in specific regions: Macedonia, Thrace, Thessaly, Central Mainland Greece, the Peloponnese, and Lesvos.Feta is a simple cheese to make. It has a mild, milky flavor that remains fresh and accessible, one that can easily be enjoyed on a daily basis. Greek Feta production abides by very specific rules that control the manufacture and the allowed percentage of goat’s milk in the cheese. Feta is made predominantly with sheep’s milk, although a small percentage of goat’s milk (up to 30%) can be added. Cow’s milk is never used in the production of true Feta.Feta is mostly made in small dairies that buy the milk directly from surrounding farmers, but whether the dairy is large or small, the production process is similar.The milk is either collected by or delivered to the cheese dairies on a daily basis. Sheep’s milk, compared to cow’s milk, is low in yield but high in protein and fat solids. In Greece, sheep and goats roam freely in the countryside and eat indigenous grasses and brush. Greece is blessed with an unusually large amount of edible plants (over 2,500), so it is natural that the milk of each region reflects certain flavours that are characteristic both of the particular region and the season. The most flavorful milk, for example, is produced in early spring, when the countryside is lush with fresh wild foliage; but the richest milk is produced in the summer, when animals feed mainly off grains.Feta is made in modern kettle vats in which the milk is set. The soft mass is cut into curds which are slightly heated and salted, and then scooped into metal molds.These wet curds are left to drain overnight. The next day each solid mass of drained young cheese is sprinkled with salt, stacked on top of each other, and fitted in a wooden barrel or a large tin container. The container is topped off with a little whey, sealed and kept for a minimum of two months to mature. After that, it is ready to be sold.
Feta is the quintessential Greek table cheese, but it is also excellent in all sorts of other dishes. As a main ingredient, it finds its way into savory pies, made with Feta and eggs, or combinations of cheeses, or mixtures of greens and cheese. It is also a staple on the meze table, and can be grilled or baked in paper and even sautéed, sometimes with a crust of nuts or sesame seeds or a simple egg and flour wash.In the summer, it is hard to avoid thinking of ripe, juicy tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, and sharp, fleshy Greek olives. Add a few morsels of Feta and you’ve created the framework for a classic Greek salad. A diversity of ingredients makes it all the more opulent. Typical additions to this Greek classic are capers, dried Greek oregano, sliced peppers, fresh summer herbs such as mint, chopped scallions, thinly cut onions and a generous splash of extra virgin olive oil.In Crete, the same basic ingredients comprise a local bread salad, made with the island’s whole wheat and barley rusks, which are moistened and used as a base for coarsely chopped the tomatoes, olives and onions. Local cooks drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and crumble some Feta on top of the whole salad; the rusk soaks up all the juices and softens. It’s a meal in itself.Feta is almost always served with a whole family of foods in Greece known as “lathera” (vegetable stews gently simmered in olive oil until soft). In some parts of the country the cheese is mixed into the stew pot until it melts and melds with the vegetables, forming a creamy, luscious sauce.
Abroad, especially in the United States and Britain, Feta has evolved from being a Greek specialty item to a respected component of Mediterranean cooking.While Greek restaurants around the country serve delectable variations of the classic Greek salad, upscale Mediterranean restaurants combine watermelon, arugula (rocket), extra virgin olive oil, and good Greek Feta to create a highly addictive summer appetizer. A pasta gratin of fusilli or orrechietti with braised leafy greens such as mustard, chard or, better still, nettles, and chickpeas may sound determinately Italian, but add a little Feta and it acquires a smooth, tangy finish that expands the cultural heritage of the dish.
