02
Feb
Feta cheese should always be thawed in the refrigerator. Unfortunately it will never beat fresh feta.
Squeezing all the water out of your feta will.
Can you freeze feta in brine. The recipe calls for the cheese to be aged for 5 to 30 days in a brine solution. Try it after 5 days and see what you think it should get crumblier the longer it is aged. The cheese is meant to be salty but if its too salty for your taste reduce the concentration of the brine.
The longer feta cheese stays in the freezer the worse its quality thats for sure. But those changes are very gradual and you can only see those if you compare feta thats frozen for a month to feta thats in the freezer for 3 months. To get decent quality try to use the frozen feta.
Stored with a brine solution can last longer because the high content of salt adds extra preservation. If your feta cheese is sealed and submerged in brine freezing feta can make it. Bacteria grow rapidly at temperatures between 40 F and 140 F.
Feta cheese in brine should be discarded if left out for more than 2 hours at room temperature. To further extend the shelf life of opened feta cheese in brine freeze it. Drain feta and wrap tightly in plastic freezer wrap or place in heavy-duty freezer.
The best quality feta in brine will last for about a month in the refrigerator. Olive oil can also prolong the shelf life of feta cheese up to one month because it acts as a natural preserver. The shelf life of feta cheese will be extended by storing it in the freezer.
If you will not be consuming it immediately store feta cheese in a brine or milk bath. The milk bath will reduce the saltiness and help keep the cheese moist and mild in flavor. Properly stored in brine or milk and refrigerated feta cheese will last up to 3 months.
Feta cheese is not a candidate for freezing. Feta cheese should always be thawed in the refrigerator. Remove it from the freezer and place it in the fridge keeping it in the packaging.
Once thawed remove the wrapping and store it in a brine of salt and water olive oil or plain in an airtight container. You can easily save the remaining cheese by making your own brine. Just combine 2 cups water with 2 tsp.
Kosher salt stirring until the salt dissolves. Store the leftover feta in the brine making. Opened feta in brine on the other hand will keep for about a month in the fridge while retaining its best qualities.
Olive oil will also extend the shelf life of feta cheese for up to a month as it is a natural preservative. Storing feta cheese in the freezer will further extend the life of the product. Strain the brine out of your feta cheese.
Dont be tempted to freeze your feta in the packet of brine the liquid will freeze and ruin your fetas texture. Use a paper towel to pat your block of feta down but dont worry about drying it completely. Squeezing all the water out of your feta will.
And if you need any more convincing. The brine that your feta is floating in is actually a delicious ingredient all on its own. Once youve gobbled up all that cheese you can use the cloudy.
You can also add frozen feta cheese to pasta dishes. Because you are mixing the feta in with a lot of sauce you can end up rehydrating the cheese. As a result the dry texture is likely to disappear.
Almost any regular dish that involves fresh feta cheese can also incorporate frozen feta. Can you brine and then freeze. Without salting or brining the chicken lost 22 of its moisture when cooked.
With brining before freezing it lost 15 of its moisture. Treating the chicken before freezing works better than after because it gives the salt additional time to do its jobwhile the meat is freezing and then again while it is thawing. Fresh feta is tastier and has a more pleasant texture than frozen and thawed one so using it fresh is the best solution here.
And feta with brine has a pretty long shelf life in the fridge so before you jump the gun with freezing it makes sense to talk a bit about storage. When you buy feta cheese it comes in brine which keeps it moist with a creamy and velvety texture. When you freeze it that brine is removed and whatever is left of it is crystallized and can no longer protect the cheese.
As such it is prone to turning out crumbly. If you store your leftover feta in brine or olive oil you will significantly extend its shelf life. Feta preserved in brine solutions will keep well for up to 6 months.
Feta preserved in olive oil on the other hand will be good for at least 2 weeks. Unfortunately it will never beat fresh feta. Thats why where possible try and buy feta that is submerged in brine.
Take as much as you need from the brine and then keep the leftovers in that brine. This will allow you to keep feta in the fridge for 3 to 4 weeks compared to just a few days when the feta is drained.