Brine For Ripening Feta Type Cheeses In - Salt %

[ryan112ryan]

I have been using Cheesemaking.com starter kit, I was making Feta and everything seemed to be going well until I tried it after letting it sit in the brine. 

The brine I used was 1lb 4oz of non iodized salt in 1/2 gallon of water.  I let it sit in the brine for 12 hours (flipped half way through).  The pieces were about 2-3" cubed.   Took it out, and let it sit at room temperature covered for two days (poured of some of the liquid it released).  I tried it and the outside was way too salty.  I tried washing it, didn't work.  I tried soaking it, didn't work.  I broke up the block and tried some from the center, it seems pretty good, but the outside was too salty. 

Any ideas?

[Cheese Head]

Welcome ryan112ryan, I believe you've made alost a saturated brine which is good for enabling very long aged Feta but also results in excessively salty tasting cheese. There are some posts on this in the Brine Ripened Board, also see our Wiki: Brine For Ripening Cheese, for this batch soaking your Feta in some milk will reduce the salt content, for future you need to lower the brine concentration, and preferably use your whey as the brine base.

[Buck47]

Hey John (CH),

When using whey rather than water do the amounts of salt to liquid stay the same as it would be for water & salt? - (For 18% solution - use 1.828 pounds salt to one gallon whey or water)? 

Just curious if there is a difference.. I've seen where sometimes these subtleties can make a big difference. 

Thanks. 

[ryan112ryan]

I read through many threads, and the links/recipes you gave, still a little confused.

So if I am gathering this right I used 20 ounce of salt in 64 ounces of water.  20/64 x 100 = 31.25 % solution?

So for my next batch I should use 8 ounces of salt in 64 ounces of water.  8/64 x 100 = 12.5% solution. 

Once I have this 12% brine, how do I determine how long I need to keep it in the brine?  How does surface area of the cheese impact this time (is there a formula or rule of thumb for surface area to brine time)? 

[dttorun]

Keep feta cubes in water over night or even longer to transfer salt from cheese to water.
Tan

[Cheese Head]

@Buck47, never thought about that, I guess whey has a very slightly different Specific Gravity to fresh water but that would make very little different to the final % brine. Whether a small difference in % brine makes a difference I don't think so as people use generally anywhere from 16% up to saturated.

@ryan, from the page linked above "% salt is a measure of the weight of salt divided by the weight of brine, i.e. if you dissolve 1 kg of salt in 5 liters of water, the brine will weigh 6 kg and you will have 1/6 = 16.7% salt brine". So for your mix you would have made a 20 ounces weight of salt / (64 ounces weight of water + 20 salt = 20/84 = 23.8% brine. 31.25% is impossible at standard room & temp, max is ~26% salt at 60°F/15°C.

From the table at the bottom of that page if you want a 16% brine (the minimum for minimizing unwanted bacteria growth and will give you the lowest salty taste) then use 1.586 pounds of salt in 1 US gallon of water or preferably whey.

Feta cheese are meant to be ripened (OK they don't change a lot) or stored in brine, not temporarily bathed, see these pictures. The plastic bagged feta are repackaged from the large containers where shipped in brine, pictures further down that thread are of old Greek store where stored in barrel and large containers in brine. I also keep mine for months in brine until I use it all up.

[Buck47]

@Buck47, never thought about that, I guess whey has a very slightly different Specific Gravity to fresh water but that would make very little different to the final % brine. Whether a small difference in % brine makes a difference I don't think so as people use generally anywhere from 16% up to saturated.

Thanks John,  I, like ryan112ryan find the feta I've made far to salty for my taste.

The feta I've purchased in stores has tasted of far less salt. Now I don't know if it was soaked or washed before packaging to the end user, but I do know even with soaking for hours in water or milk, the feta I make has to much of a salty taste.

Think I'll try the whey brine next time --- possibly drop down to the 16% -17% range on the salt and see if that makes a difference.

Thanks for your responce.  Regards: john

[ryan112ryan]

Thanks for the info John.  I don't know how I missed that chart at the bottom. 

Could someone tell me how to determine length of time you need to brine feta?  and how time is impacted by surface area (size and shape of cheese). 

[dttorun]

There is no time frame for brining feta. You can keep the cube in brine until the time you want to eat. Use a pickling jar with tight lid, fill the cheese and add brine until all cubes are covered. You may need to add a couple of CaCl2 drops to the brine. Put some weight on top of the cheese to keep them in the brine so there is no cheese surface exposed. Close the lid tightly and keep the jar in the fridge. Before you want to eat, remove as much cheese as you want, soak in the water overnight and pat dry.
Tan

[Cheese Head]

Buck47/John, it's a good question, from what I've read 16% brine is the minimum for minimizing unwanted bacteria growth in the brine and thus good for long term ripening/aging/storing, and would result in a less salty Feta than saturated brine. But if you don't need your Feta to last 6-12 months then you should be able to go lower % which may be what the commercial Feta's come with, next time I buy some I'll measure the % salt with my salometer.

The other way to reduce salt taste is to replace part of the sodium chloride with I think potassium chloride, just can't find that thread.

[dttorun]

John, it should be calcium chloride. To help cheese keep the shape (or prevent softening) due to Calcium ion transfer from cheese to water.
Tan

[Cheese Head]

dttorun, correct that you can use very small amounts of Calcium Chloride in brine for Feta type cheese ripening & storage if not already in there such as if using whey for brine base.

But to reduce salty tasting cheese from high salt content brine's you could replace part of the Sodium Chloride with Potassium Chloride, just found that Thread.

Subsequent to the discussion above I bought some manufactured Feta from the local Eastern Mediterranean store and measured the brine that came in baggies with it at 8.5% salt, no idea if that salt is 100% Sodium Chloride (common eating salt) or partially Potassium Chloride. Anyway I am going to store my future Feta's in 8.5% brine, even if it doesn't last as long as with 16% brine.

[Tea]

I have always used a 12% solution when I make feta.  Apparently the norm is anywhere between 12-15%.  I have used both whey and water with no problems.  As long as the brine is covering the cheese, and clean fingers are used in getting out some cheese, I can usually keep feta 6+ months.  Usually though, it doesn't get the chance to get that mature.

[sstrantz]

I've been reading this thread and looking at the tables.

Can someone comment on the weight (US) of the salt in relation to standard measuring cup measures? 

For example, how much does 1 C. of salt weigh?  I have read that salt weights vary but I'm wondering if there is a rule of thumb thumb that can be used or if I just need to weigh it every time.

My other question related to weighing ingredients:  Does anyone recommend a specific scale brand/type?

[Cheese Head]

Sue, sorry but can't help you with weight to volume conversion which will be different for different gain size - types of salt. Suggest you measure a volume of your salt and then weigh it to get your conversion factor.

On weighing tiny ingredients such as dry rennet and cultures I use a tiny scale, see this thread, the first one is better than the second.