Brine For Aging Cheese In - % Salt?

[simbiotic]

I am in need of some help please.
I need the right mixture of salt to water for my fetta brine (the one it stays in ) Mine seems to be too salty .
Thanks

[KosherBaker]

Hi simbiotic.

I use the the University of Guelph recipe, which are intended for professional food production, as my guideline for Feta along with all the Feta related posts from the RENNET COAGULATED - Brine Ripened (Aegean Sea) board. The university of Guelph Feta recipe calls for an 8% salt brine once the Feta has been aged and is ready to be brined.

[Cheese Head]

Hi simbiotic, there is no right brine % for aging brine in, it's a personal preference. There's some info in our Wiki: Making Brine article on why higher salt % brines are preferable for cheese longevity and safety. However as you've found, using a very high % brine will result in a very salty feta. If you search the forum on word "salty" you will get several hits on this subject.

The best solution is to soak your feta a little milk before consuming to reduce the salty taste. For next batch you could go with a lower % brine like KosherBaker says, FYI I measured store bought brine density here.