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Better with feta

This tangy, creamy, crumbly textured Greek cheese can liven up more than just salads

by MILLY DAWSON

When you hear feta, do you immediately think Greek salad? It’s likely, as that is where most feta winds up. But creamy feta, with its tangy, slightly salty profile, can play a starring role in many more dishes. It brings a burst of flavour not only to cold dishes but also to cooked ones.

Feta belongs to a family of young white cheeses. These varieties are aged from at least two months to approximately a year, and they have no rinds. Although feta is a young cheese, its origins date back to ancient Greece.

In The Odyssey, Greek poet Homer mentions Odysseus and his men noticing the delightful smell and sight of woven baskets full of feta in the cave of a Cyclops, who was a shepherd.

The Greek word feta means slice. Originally, feta came only in blocks for slicing or crumbling just before use, but it is now available in crumbles. Authentic Greek feta comes with the Protected Designation of Origin certification, which identifies it is made in a specific geographical area in Greece. Traditional Greek feta is made from sheep’s milk steeped in brine, although many contemporary feta cheeses combine sheep’s milk and goat’s milk. What sets feta apart is its distinctive flavour and crumbly texture.

When Greeks put feta on their salads, they lay it in thick slices across a mix of tomatoes, cucumbers and Kalamata olives, with no lettuce or leafy greens involved. Try feta crumbled onto a bowl of tomato, vegetable or lentil soup. Add small chunks to tabbouleh. Stuff a pita with roasted vegetables and feta, or scatter some on salmon before baking.

Versatile feta is flavourful no matter how you serve it.