FETA CHEESE

Feta cheese is a traditional Greek product made from a mixture of goat's and sheep's milk. It has an exceptional taste, a nice white color, which is not owed to artificial whitening agents, and has a low fat content.

Sheeps and goats in Greece don't live in enclosed areas where animals are force fed. They graze freely and eat the vegetation found on mountains, rocks, hills or plains. Flocks also have to move from place to place and sometimes cover long distances in order to find more nourishment. This mobility helps them to eat a wide variety of flora as Greece is plentiful in aromatic bushes and herbs. The unique flavors of their food are transmitted to the cheese made from their milk. This is the reason why feta cheese possesses the very particular flavors of the areas where it is produced. 

Feta cheese is placed in either wooden or tin containers to mature. Maturation occurs in two stages. The first stage lasts 15 days under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. The second stage takes place in refrigerators at a steady temperature and lasts more than 30 days. The use of preservatives in the production of feta is not allowed. 

Some foreign countries have tried to imitate feta by using cow's milk. In order for them to produce something similar they had to use artificial colors in order to make it white. As the artificial color does not stay, the cheese soon loses its white color and starts to turn yellow. Also cow's milk is fatty so the cheese produced from it contains more fat. And of course they cannot, under any circumstances, produce a cheese with the flavor and aroma of the real feta cheese, which is a result of the herbs and bushes found in the Greek land. 

Greek feta is exported to many foreign countries. This original product of Greece has the Greek flag on the packaging. The packaging also has information concerning the type of milk used and the particular area in which it was produced. 

Feta cheese is a very special Greek food. Greeks adore it and it is part of their daily diet. Feta is served with meals and it is also used to prepare various dishes. It is a must in summer salads combined with tomatoes and cucumbers, onions and oregano. Cheese pies (tyropita), which are made with pastry dough (fyllo), use feta as their filling. Ktipiti, a dip made with hot peppers and feta is a delicious appetizer to accompany ouzo on warm summer days. Feta is also used to make stuffed squid (calamari) or cuttlefish (soupia).