boy, is my feta ever salty

[Wateetons]

Tried my first Feta a few days ago. It's now maturing in its 12% whey/brine. No signs of melting cheese. I tasted a piece after 3 days or so. SALTY!. Too salty to eat. Which is odd, because I read 12-15% brine everywhere. What am I not understanding or doing wrong?

[Tea]

Feta can be salty, but the salt is required for the keeping of the cheese.  If you are finding that it is too salty for your taste then soak the cheese in milk for upto an hour before use.  This will reduce some of the salt.

Glad to see that you made a successful batch.  So what cheese is next?

[Wateetons]

Munster. It pulsated, moved and tried to bite me the first time I made it so I had to kill it with fire. But I shall prevail.

Referrring to the Feta: 6% of salt or so won't do?

[Tea]

Feta brine is usually 12-15% (as opposed to most other cheeses which are usually between 20-26%), which enable it to be kept for upto 12 months.  If you are doing this for your own personal use, try some at 6% and see what you think, but the texture of the cheese will be different with the lesser salt amount.

Personally I find it just as easy to dunk into some milk.

[brent]

i tried the soak in milk idiea and it disolved  :'( :'( :'( what went wrong ????? ill try a non brine next time

[Wateetons]

Tell us a little bit more about your cheese and its making process. Maybe that will give us a hint.

[brent]

my post is directly below yours if that helps ;D

[BoilerMaker]

I read in the CHR Hanson Feta Brochure in the Library that if Feta is too salty, that up to 50% of the NaCl can be replaced with KCl. The cheese will be less salty tasting, but the brine will still have plenty of salts for preserving the cheese. I haven't tried it myself, but it looks interesting.

[Herc]

Wateetons,

The container I use to keep feta in is only about 1/2" bigger than the cheese. This helps to reduce the saltiness.
As Tea said, if it is still too salty -soak it in milk. If you leave it in the milk too long it will turn to mush.

Herc

[archroy]

That's too bad your feta is extra salty, I am trying to make some right now and the recipe I'm looking at is from Peter Dixons site which says store it  in 8-10% salt solution.  Anyways thanks for the heads up so hopefully I won't have the same problem  :)

-Archroy

[homeacremom]

I've had very good success in the last two months with pressing the feta lightly -about 2 lbs- pressure for 12 hrs- and brining in a 2 lbs salt to one gallon water brine for 12 hrs. I then cut the wheel into 1/4, dunk each 1/4 into the brine to salt all exposed surfaces and stack in a sanitized glass container. I leave it unopened for one month in my normal household fridge. In that time it ages to a pleasant sharpness, and has the great crumbly feta texture.

Raw goat milk, Flora Danica culture, 86* temp from culture through to draining the curd. Culture the milk for one hour, rennet and stand for 45-60 minutes, cut curd and stir every 10 minutes from 30-45 minutes. Drain and press. When brining flip the wheel at least once. I sprinkle the top of the wheel with salt for the first segment of brining.

This method has given me the best "traditional" feta results although there are other lovely ways to make feta, such a a creamy, slicable chevre texture or a young salted curd feta, also slicable. We are eating a 3 week old washed curd feta right now. My "wildcard" cheese for the month of May.




I know....pics and all that. Maybe I can get my sis over for a few bathes or borrow the cam.  :D

[cheddarbob]

Congrats on making your first feta — that's a big milestone!

You're absolutely right that most sources recommend a 12–15% brine for storing feta, but there are a few important details that can affect saltiness:

Cheese Moisture Content: If your feta is on the drier side, it can absorb more salt from the brine, making it saltier than expected.

Initial Salt Content: If you dry-salted the cheese heavily before brining, that can compound the saltiness.

Brining Time: A few days might already be enough for the outer layer to absorb a lot of salt. It continues to penetrate over time, so early tastings can seem very salty.

Brine Type: Is your brine made with just water and salt, or is it whey brine? A whey-based brine is gentler on flavor and texture. Also, adding a touch of vinegar or calcium chloride can help preserve texture without increasing perceived saltiness.

A Few Tips:
You can desalinate overly salty feta by soaking a piece in plain water or milk in the fridge for a few hours or overnight before eating.

For storage, you might experiment with a weaker brine, say around 8–10%, especially if your cheese is already salted well from the make process.

I made mine, and won a huge hamper of ryvita to eat mine with! cannot wait - you can still enter here guys -  https://www.freestuffspot.co.uk/free-ryvita-hamper/