Editor’s note: while Epikouria does not usually provide editorial space for companies’ to promote their products, occasionally exceptions should be made. The author of this section, Sotiris Kitrilakis, is a world-renowned authority on Greek food and a steadfast champion of the Slow Food movement. Affiliated with the Mt. Vikos company, Mr. Kitrilakis also runs the not-for-profit agro-tourism organization, Zante-Feast. Here he explains, clearly and succinctly, how, specifically, Mt. Vikos Feta and, in general, authentic Feta is made.

The dairy works with about a dozen herds on nearby foothills. These are herds of goats and sheep that are free-ranging on communal and national pastures within 30kms of the dairy. Recently, they have all been equipped with small refrigeration units which are run on mains when available or by portable generators.

Refrigerated trucks collect the milk daily and cold milk is brought to the dairy no later than 15 hours after milking. Milk from the various herds is periodically sampled and tested for composition and bacteria. The combination of animals produces, on average, a blend of sheep and goat's milk which varies from 15% - 25% goat milk content. The variation results from the different yield during the seasons. This is well within the goat milk limit of 30% for authentic Feta. The fat content of the blend varies between 5.8% and 6.8%. Again this is a seasonal variation.

After testing for bacteria and fat content, the blended milk is filtered and asteurized at 71 degrees centigrade for 20 seconds. This is considered low-temperature asteurization and is well below the 76 – 78 degree range which causes protein denaturation and problems with the lactose present in the milk. It is cooled to 33-35 degrees centigrade and placed in the vats where the curd will form. Bacterial culture is added, mixed and allowed to rest for 30 minutes. The cultures are the cheese maker’s particularblend and have a great deal of influence on the final flavor and ageing characteristics of the cheese. Culture is what makes Feta, Feta.

After the 30 minute rest, natural animal rennet is added. The vat is stirred for about 5 minutes to distribute the rennet and then allowed to coagulate over a 40 to 50 minute period. The cheese maker observes the progress of coagulation very carefully and looks for telltale signs after about 12 minutes. Exactly how long the coagulation will proceed is his empirical call, which he bases on visual observation and the feel of the curd inside his palm as he presses it with his thumb. When ready, the curd is cut into 3-4 centimeter cubes with rotating wire paddles. This step is crucial. The character of the cut curd will have important influence on the texture of the cheese later on. The cut curd is allowed to rest 20-30 minutes. Again the timing is determined by the cheese maker who continuously assesses the structure and texture of the cut curd.

When ready, the curd is transferred into large round stainless steel perforated molds 45-48 centimeters in diameter and 25 centimeters in depth. About 20 - 25 kilograms of curd goes into each mold. The molds are placed on draining tables where the whey keeps draining out of the mold. The process of draining the whey is again assisted by the cheese maker who periodically presses and "massages" the setting curd by hand tilting the mold from side to side and assisting the draining process. This continues for about three hours until the cheese has begun to firm up as a continuous mass. The round mass of cheese in the mold is then cut into three segments.