feta getting a little soft in brine

[EvaL]

So I have read to add calcium, don't have any yet.  I have also read to add acidic whey from a cheese like cheddar and I only have my whey from the feta.  Also read to add white vinegar but...my children are allergic.

So any thoughts?

Thank you in advance.  I have plenty of salt and apple cider vinegar which we all can tolerate.  Don't want a vinegar tasting cheese though.

Eva

[Cheese Head]

Hi Eva, whey from your Feta making should work great, just add salt to the % brine you want.

[smilingcalico]

EvaL, I second John's advice.  I use the whey from my Feta to make the brine.  I even have a batch in the fridge that is a little over a year old, and it's still tasty and perfectly preserved!

[sominus]

I have found that a little calcium chloride does wonders...

[wcaprar]

I'm not 100% sure about this, so someone correct me if I'm wrong, but you can add citric acid instead of vinegar

[Cheese Head]

Yep AFAIK citric acid should also work. I don't add anything to my whey except the salt as pH should be good.

[smilingcalico]

If it's acidity you're after, then yes, you can.  It doesn't sound like that would fix the issue though.  Feta will typically get soft in the brine because calcium is leaching out of the cheese.  That's why John and I recommended using the whey from the make, because it will already have some calcium in it and won't pull any calcium from the cheese.  If you made the brine from water, then sominus' suggestion of adding calcium chloride to the brine is also correct.  And then too, if brine was made from water and needed more acidity, vinegar or citric acid would do.  Rather than try to recreate the acidity and calcium level of a brine made with whey, I'll just use the whey, add my salt, and voila,  I'm done.
This all without asking if you ended up using whey or water. On occasion, a brine from whey doesn't have enough calcium left in it, but I don't find that to often with a feta make.

[9mmruger]

I generally agree with John (CH) and Smilingcalico, but on my last feta, it got soft and slimy in the whey brine.  The batch that I made this last weekend I added calcium chloride to the whey brine.  So far no soft and slimy.  Fingers crossed.  May not have needed it, but why chance it.  Calcium chloride is inexpensive.