Ingredient

Feta

Feta is a brined sheep's or sheep-and-goat's milk cheese, and its two defining properties follow from that: it is salty, and it holds its shape when heated instead of melting into a sauce.

Why it does not melt

Feta is an acid-set cheese kept in brine. The acid and salt together make its protein network tight and stable, so heat does not cause it to flow the way a young rennet-set cheese like mozzarella does.

Instead it softens, browns and holds its shape. That is why baked feta works — a block in the oven with tomatoes and oil goes creamy and golden without dissolving — and why crumbled feta on a hot dish stays as recognisable pieces.

It also means feta cannot be used to make a smooth cheese sauce. If a recipe calls for melting cheese, feta is not a substitute.

What counts as feta

Greek PDO feta

At least 70% sheep's milk, the rest goat, made in specified regions and matured in brine. Tangier and more complex.

Cow's milk "salad cheese"

Cannot legally be called feta in the UK and EU. Milder, blander, often rubbery, and much cheaper.

Barrel-aged

Matured in wooden barrels rather than tins. Stronger and more expensive.

Similar cheeses

Turkish beyaz peynir, Bulgarian sirene, and various white brined cheeses. All behave similarly.

Not similar

Halloumi, which squeaks and holds shape for different reasons, and ricotta, which is a fresh whey cheese.

Using it

• Crumbled over salad, with tomato, cucumber, olives and oregano. The obvious use and still the best one.
• Baked whole with tomatoes, olive oil and herbs, then stirred through pasta. It goes soft and creamy.
• Whipped with yoghurt or cream cheese, lemon and oil, into a dip.
• In pastry — spanakopita, borek, filo triangles with spinach and dill.
• Against sweetness — watermelon, beetroot, roasted squash, honey. Salt against sugar is the whole point.
• Crumbled onto roasted vegetables while still hot, so it softens slightly.

Practical points

• Buy it in brine rather than vacuum-packed in a dry block. It is better and keeps far longer.
• If it is too salty, soak it in cold water or milk for twenty minutes to an hour. This genuinely works.
• Season the dish after the feta goes in, not before.
• Keep it in its brine in the fridge. If you have discarded the brine, make a weak salt solution or cover it in oil.
• It does not freeze well — it goes crumbly and dry.
• Anyone advised to avoid unpasteurised or soft cheeses should check the label and follow the relevant guidance; feta is made in both pasteurised and unpasteurised forms.

Storing it, and what the brine is for

Feta sold in brine keeps for months; feta sold dry in plastic dries out and sharpens within days.

1. Keep it in its brine, submerged, in the fridge. It will keep for weeks.
2. If it came without enough liquid, make more: salted water at roughly the strength of the brine it arrived in, or milk, which keeps it milder.
3. Never store it dry in the fridge. The surface hardens and the flavour turns aggressively salty.
4. Once it is too salty, soak it in milk or water for an hour and it will calm down noticeably.
5. Use the brine. It seasons a dressing, a marinade for chicken, a batch of bread dough, or the water for boiling potatoes.
6. It freezes badly — the texture goes crumbly and dry — so buy what you will use.

Common questions