Why Marinate Feta Cheese
Why not? Good feta cheese is delicious with it’s slightly tart, tangy flavor, but marinated feta cheese is a way to up the ante and give feta cheese a burst of flavor. By adding citrus zest, herbs and spices, feta can get to the next level, turning something that seems rather plain on a cheese board into something special.
How to Buy Feta Cheese
You’ll find several options when it comes to buying feta in your grocery store. Here are a few tips to make sure you bring home the best feta.
- Block. It’s generally better to buy a block of feta than crumbled feta. First of all, a block of feta allows you to cut it into squares or crumble it if you want to. That gives you some versatility, but more importantly, a block of cheese will last longer in your refrigerator than crumbles. The pre-crumbled feta also often has an anti-caking agent added to keep the cheese in crumbles. Realistically, how hard is it to crumble some feta when you want crumbles? Buy a block.
- Brine. Look for a block of feta in brine, rather than in a vacuum sealed pack. The brine is there to prevent the cheese from drying out and generally produces feta with a better texture.
- Greek vs. Bulgarian vs. French Feta. All three of these feta cheese varieties are great, but they do differ slightly. Greek feta is feta made in the traditionally Greek way, using sheep’s milk and sometimes goat’s milk (no more than 30%) mixed in. French feta is always made with just sheep’s milk, but is less salty and a little creamier than Greek. Bulgarian feta is made with sheep’s milk or goat’s milk or a mix of the two (read the ingredients). Some American feta uses cow’s milk cheese, especially in the pre-crumbled versions and is dryer and less creamy than the three preferred varieties.
For marinated feta, I would choose to buy a block of Greek or Bulgarian feta in brine.
Ingredients for Marinated Feta Cheese
To marinate feta, you will need a flavor-infused olive oil. In this recipe, I use garlic, fresh rosemary, some citrus zest and then some dried spices – chili flake and oregano. You should feel comfortable substituting your favorite ingredients – use lemon instead of orange, dried basil instead of oregano, etc…
How to Remove Strips of Citrus Zest
The citrus zest will add a lot of flavor to the oil, but the zest won’t really be edible once you’ve let it simmer in the oil. So, you’ll want some pretty fresh strips of zest to add to the jar of feta. Use a channel knife to remove the zest. This takes off nice pretty strips of zest, leaving the bitter pith behind. You’ll usually find a channel knife on a zester. The zester above is part of my Blue Jean Chef® gadget set and it’s one of the tools I use most often.
Make a Flavored Oil
The key to making a flavored oil is to put all the ingredients into the olive oil in a cold pan and bring it up to a very gentle temperature, drawing the flavors out of those ingredients. Use a gentle head and don’t let the oil come anywhere near the smoke point. Use low heat and let the flavors sit together for at least 5 to 10 minutes, or even longer. Then, remove the ingredients that have given their flavor to the oil. You can add fresh trips of zest, fresh rosemary and new bay leaves to the jar of feta.
How to Marinate Feta Cheese
Cut the feta into cubes. The size of the cube will depend on how you plan on serving the cheese. The smaller the cube, the more flavor each bite will have, but if it’s really small, it will be hard to pick up on a toothpick without crumbling. Cubes that are too large are a little cumbersome to eat, so cut the feta into polite bite-sized cubes. Place the feta in a jar. Add the fresh flavor ingredients into the jar. Then let the oil cool to room temperature before pouring it over the cheese. Make sure the cheese is completely covered with oil – if you’re a little short, add more olive oil to the jar. Seal the jar and turn it over a few times to distribute the herbs and spices which will naturally settle on the bottom. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve. A day in the fridge will improve the flavor, so it’s best made a day ahead of time.
How to Store Marinated Feta Cheese
Store this marinated feta cheese in the fridge, letting it come to room temperature before serving. You can keep it up to a week or two in the fridge, but this is not a candidate for long storage.
How to Serve Marinated Feta Cheese
You can serve the marinated feta by itself with toothpicks and a bowl of warm olives (which if you haven’t warmed your olives before you need to run (not walk!) to this article next!), or you can serve it as part of a cheese board with crackers or pita bread. It’s also delicious crumbled onto a salad or over some steamed green beans. There are so many ways, honestly, that I’m sure you’ll come up with ideas of your own.
