You Must Keep the Feta in Oil.
Feta is already pretty perfect. It has a crumbly, moist taste, a bit of umami saltiness, and a long shelf life, but you can go even further by keeping homemade (or even store-bought) feta in oil.
Canned feta has its roots in Persia – in fact, it is called “Persian feta”. Traditionally, Persian feta is made with cow’s milk, but if you follow our Greek feta recipe , your feta will be made with sheep’s milk. But any feta, whether it’s made with goat’s, cow’s or sheep’s milk, can be preserved in oil.
Putting something in a jar turns it tweed, so canned feta is the perfect gift for a hostess or a token of appreciation from your neighbors. Take cans of balls and a couple of bottles of oil; we cook “Belle and Sebastian” from cheeses.
Canned Feta (Gavin Webber’s recipe )
Ingredients:
- 6-8 ounces feta cheese, store bought or homemade
- Whatever herbs and spices you like
- 2 cups sunflower oil
- 2 cups olive oil
Drain the water and dry the cheese.
Despite the fact that you will be immersing the feta in liquid fat, before that it should be as dry as possible and exclude water from preservation. Drain the feta as best you can on paper towels or in a sieve, then pat it dry with additional paper towels before placing it on a bamboo mat or plastic cheese mat on top of a plate in a cool, dry place. Let it air dry overnight.
When the cheese is dry to the touch, place it on a sterilized cutting board and cut into even-sized pieces. If you’re storing cheese in a quart jar, one-inch cubes will work. However, if you like small half-pint jars as much as I do, cut them into smaller ½-inch cubes.
Mind the spices
Traditionally, fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf are added, along with dried garlic and pickled spices, to create a delicious blend. But you don’t have to limit yourself to this combination: Treat feta like olives and season them the same way.
Consider lemon zest, oregano, and dried garlic; sun-dried tomatoes, basil and dried garlic; or peppercorns and chili for a savory mix.
You may notice that I keep saying “dried garlic” and I feel like emphasizing the “dried” part. We love fresh garlic, but fresh garlic in an anoxic environment is an easy route to botulism, and I’m totally against it.
Sterilize jars
There are several ways to sterilize jars, but the best is in the dishwasher on an appropriate hot cycle. If you don’t have a dishwasher, you can place clean jars on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven at 275℉ for 10 minutes.
With clean hands, place any dried spices you wish to use in the bottom of the jar. Add feta cubes. You want to fit as much as possible without forcing them or they will crumble. As you fill the jars, add fresh spices and other ingredients as you go: a pinch of hot pepper here, tomato or lemon zest here, a sprig of rosemary for extra measure. Don’t overfill it; do not rise above the shoulders of the can.
Add your oil
The oil is a 50/50 mixture of olive and sunflower oils. Olive oil itself can become cloudy, and sunflower oil helps prevent this. Toss them ahead of time, then pour in just enough to completely cover the cheese. Repeat: The feta cheese must be completely submerged in water.
Air bubbles in canned food are a place where harmful substances fester. Get rid of them. Rotate the jar looking for bubbles. Tap the jar on the table a few times to make the bubbles rise. You can also use a wooden skewer to loosen them.
Once you’re sure you’ve got rid of the bubbles, it’s time to close the lid with a brand new cap (they can’t be reused, despite popular theory) and a nice clean ring. Wrap it tightly and refrigerate for one or two weeks.
This is not the canned food we want to ferment, so store it in the refrigerator. Feta left at room temperature will start to ferment, and the lipase in the cheese will activate, turning it into a creepy mess with a terrible taste.
Taste the feta with a clean fork after a week. (Don’t put the fork back in the jar once it touches your mouth.) If it tastes good, then it’s done. If not, wait another week and try again. This may be the longest week of your life, but it’s worth the wait.