Feta Quest

Cheese is one of the great pleasures in life. Having spent a few austere months as a vegan in college I know what I'm talking about. Tofutti Cuties can replace ice cream, cakes can be made without butter and eggs, but vegan cheese is a waxy abomination. It's a joy to visit Murray's cheese shop on Bleaker Street and bask in the stink, and I can spend the better part of an afternoon reading (and chuckling at) the colorful cheese descriptions at the Bedford Cheese Shop in Williamsburg. So naturally I'm eager for my niece to learn to love cheese at the ripe age of eight months. We started at the beginning, with a fresh cheese, feta. 

There are six types of fresh cheese: soft, pasta filata, brined, pressed, whey, and nonmelters. Some of the most familiar fresh cheeses are cottage cheese, cream cheese, and mozzarella. Fresh cheeses are typically soft, bright white and milky in flavor without much aroma. My favorite of all fresh cheeses is the versatile feta cheese. To find the best feta, Emma and I set out for the Greek neighborhood of Astoria, Queens.

Emma is ready for our mission.

Top quality Greek food demands a trip to Queens. 

Lots of feta

In our quest for top feta Emma and I did a little research and learned some interesting facts about feta.  To start with, the name "feta" means sliced in Greek and the cheese is made by separating the curds and whey, pressing the curds, and then finally slicing them. Typically feta is made from sheep's milk or a mixture of sheep and goat milk. In the United States you may find products labeled as feta that contain no sheep milk, however in the European Union only cheese made in the traditional method in Greece from at least 70% sheep milk can be labeled as feta because feta is a protected designation of origin product.  

Greek pastries too

and more feta

The feta we procured was delicious. We bought a Bulgarian variety and one called Arahova. The Bulgarian cheese was creamier than the Arahova and was my favorite—it was hard to tell which one Emma preferred but she ate some of both.