Have you tried adding feta cheese to your salad or sandwich? Surely you’ve also used them as garnish for meat and vegetables. Amazing, right? What if you can make this wonderful cheese at the comfort of your own home? In this article, we’ll show you the step-by-step guide on how to make homemade feta cheese.

Feta is a type of cheese that originated in Greece. It is typically made from sheep milk or a mixture of goat and sheep milk. Original feta has been considered a protected designation of origin (PDO) product in 2002 by European Union. However, many copies of it can be found all over the world.

Homemade Feta cheese is quite easy to make. If you want to try making this cheese, here are the step by step procedure on how to make homemade feta cheese.

Cheese Making Equipment

Large pot with lid

Wooden spoon

Skimmer

Colander

Curd knife

Dairy Thermometer

Cheese cloth or Butter Muslin

Homemade Feta Cheese Ingredients:

4 litre goat milk or if not available cow milk

½ teaspoon liquid rennet or ½ rennet tablet diluted in ¼ cup cool water

1 packet feta cheese starter culture or direct-set mesophilic starter culture

Optional Ingredient:

1/8 teaspoon calcium chloride diluted in ¼ cup water

Procedure for making Homemade Feta Cheese:

1. Put the milk in the large pot and heat it to 30°C. If you want to use calcium chloride – add the calcium chloride mixture into your milk as it starts warming up.
2. Once the temperature of the milk reaches 30°C, add the diluted culture and stir thoroughly.
3. Let the milk mixture to sit undisturbed for 1 hour at room temperature.
4. After an hour, add the diluted rennet and mix it in an up-and-down motion using your wooden spoon. Do not stir. Allow the rennet to incorporate, but be careful not to over-mix it.
5. Cover the pot with a lid and leave the mixture undisturbed overnight.
6. The next morning, check if your mixture has gelled. Also check if there is a clean break in the curd.
7. Get your curd knife and cut the curd into ½ inch cubes. You can also check the bottom of the pot to see if you were able to cut the curd thoroughly. However, make sure your hands are very clean.
8. Stir the curd gently on and off for about 20 minutes so that they become retracted.
9. Place the cheese cloth or butter muslin on your colander. Get your skimmer and use it to transfer the curds onto the colander with cheese cloth or butter muslin.
10. Once the excess whey has been drained, tie the cloth in knots and hang it over your kitchen sink or on a bowl. Leave it there for about 4 hours or until there’s no more whey dripping off it.