For other meanings of feta or FETA see FETA (disambiguation)

Feta (Template:Lang-el) is a curd cheese in brine. It is traditionally made from goat's and sheep's milk, but cow's milk varieties are also made in some areas. It is commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. It is used as a table cheese, as well as in salads and in baking. An example of the latter is it's use in the popular Greek spanakopita and tyropita (literally meaning 'cheese pastry') phyllo pastries. A very popular cheese not only in Greece but also in surrounding countries and around the world.

Feta is salted and cured in a brine solution (which can be either water or whey) for several months. Feta dries out rapidly when removed from the brine. Feta cheese is white, usually formed into square cakes, and can range from soft to semi-hard, with a tangy, salty flavor that can range from mild to sharp. Its fat content can range from 30 to 60 percent; most is around 45 percent milk fat.

Traditional Greek feta cheese is made from sheep's milk, or a mixture of sheep and goats' milk. The cheese is made in blocks which are salted, sliced (hence the name 'feta', meaning slice) and then salted again, before being left for about a month to mature.

Feta is also an important ingredient of Greek salad. Feta, like most cheeses, can also be served cooked; it is sometimes grilled as part of a sandwich or as a salty alternative to other cheeses in a variety of dishes.

Feta cheese is first recorded in Byzantine times, under the name <πρόσφατος> (prósphatos), and was associated specifically with Crete. An Italian visitor to Candia in 1494 describes its storage in brine clearly.^[1]

The name "feta" comes from the Italian word "fetta" ("slice")^{[citation needed]}, and dates back to the 17th century, likely referring to the method of cutting the cheese in thin slices to serve on a plate.^{[citation needed]}

Traditionally, feta has been made by peasants in the lower Balkan peninsula from sheep's milk, although goat's milk, and (to the dismay of some) cow's milk has been used in more recent times.

After a long legal battle with Denmark,^[2] which produced a similar cheese under the same name, but used artificially blanched cow's milk, the term "feta" is now a protected designation of origin (PDO), which limits the term "feta" within the European Union to Greek feta.^{[3] [4]}

Apart from Greece, similar varieties are also widely spread in Albania (djath), Bulgaria (sirene, сирене), FYROM, Serbia (sir), Israel, Turkey (beyaz peynir, i.e. white cheese), Romania (brânză telemea), Russia (brynza, брынза), Ukraine (brynza, бринза), Iran (panir iräni), and other countries.

• List of cheeses
• Cuisine of Greece
• Greek food products
• Sirene

• Andrew Dalby, Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece, Routledge, 1996. ISBN 0-415-11620-1.