How Feta PDO cheese is mаde in Kalavryta, Greece

What could possibly 20 people do in a refrigerated room full of small barrels?

Learning how the famous Feta PDO cheese is made in Kalavryta, Greece! The visit took place during the second interregional partnership meeting of project SMEOrigin in September 2023. The project aims to increase the competitiveness of food SMEs across the EU through improving regional policies and fostering products with Geographical Indications. 

The yummy white cheese is a flagship product of Greece, with high importance for the regional economy as well.

How Feta PDO is different from other white cheeses on the market?

Feta PDO is only made with the milk from native breeds of ewes and goats. The milk must have a fat content of at least 6%. It can be prepared both from pasteurised and unpasteurised milk but colourants, preservatives, lacto-proteins, casein salts or condensed or powdered milk are never added.

Producing the original Feta PDO with its unuique flavour and creaminess is a delicate process, involving several steps.

Production of Feta PDO step by step

1. After being delivered to the dairy, the milk is coagulated and placed into moulds for straining.

2. Once it has been removed from the moulds, it is sliced and the surface of the cheese is covered in a coarse-grained salt. During this stage, microorganisms develop on the surface of the curd which contribute to the flavours of feta.

3. The ripening of the cheese takes place in two stages. In the initial phase, brine is added and the cheee ripens for up to 15 days at up 18°C and relative humidity no less than 85%.

4. The second ripening stage takes place in refrigerated conditions where there is a constant temperature of 2-4°C. This could also happen in barrels.

The total time taken for the cheese to ripen is at least two months. It is only at this point that the cheese will have the rich taste and smell that sets feta apart.

 

Learn more about Feta PDO here: https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/.../geograph.../feta-pdo_en

Visit Kalavryta Dairy Cooperative: https://www.kalavritacoop.gr/ Αγροτικός Γαλακτοκομικός