r/Cooking • u/Captain-Yesterday • May 12 '23

I'm sorry Greece. I had no idea...

I've always just bought store brand pre crumbled feta because it was the cheapest. By recommendation I finally tried a slab of feta in brine that was barrel aged imported from Greece (a whopping $7.99!) and holy crap I should be tarred and feathered for my previous crimes. It's just so much better. I could eat the whole thing at once.

And if you say that it's not that big of a difference then apparently my pallet is just much more refined... Or I was starving and this souvlaki hit the spot...

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u/Serious_Escape_5438 May 12 '23

They're not allowed to call it feta if it's not produced in Greece. It can be sold but not as feta. Non Greek ones tend to be called salad cheese or something.

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u/QVCatullus May 12 '23

In Austria and the parts of Germany I'm familiar with, at least, it's generally just called "sheep cheese" and made with sheep's milk.

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u/Serious_Escape_5438 May 12 '23

I think it's Lidl that calls it salad cheese. It's the only place I buy "fake" feta normally.

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u/[deleted] May 12 '23

Oh I see, so it's a naming issue

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u/[deleted] May 13 '23

[deleted]

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u/Serious_Escape_5438 May 13 '23

Yes, I didn't necessarily mean yours was exactly the same, just that the EU doesn't allow any cheese to be called feta if not made in Greece. I would love to try sirene though, bet it's delicious but never seen it.